Deceptions sequel to The Secret Gift
by TheWickedQuill
Summary: MA Sequel to The Secret Gift. After Max's dreams crumbled, she pushed Alec away so that he could have the one thing he always wanted a family. But she never told him why. When deceptions that neither transgenic was aware of are unearthed, how will thing
1. Chapter 1

**Alec uncovers the truth behind Max's Secret Gift.**

Title: Deceptions - sequel to The Secret Gift  
Author: jracklesfan77  
Rating: R  
Pairing: M/A  
Genre: Angst/Romance  
Type: Don't be discouraged. WIP, but not a long one.  
Setting: About a year after LAtR without the insanity of FN. It's my AU, deal with it.

**Summary:** Sequel to The Secret Gift. After Max's dreams crumbled, she pushed Alec away so that he could have the one thing he always wanted - a family. But she never told him why. When deceptions that neither transgenic was aware of are unearthed, how will things play out?

**A/N1:** A huge shout out of thanks to izabelevans for allowing me the use of the character 'Axel' from her stories 'Everyone's Got Secrets' and 'No More Secrets'.

**A/N2:** Just a quick note: This story is dedicated to all my loyal fans who have begged, pleaded, niggled, nudged, cajoled and annoyed me into writing a follow-up to the first story. It took a while, but the idea stewed in my mind until I couldn't let it simmer without burning. Hope it 'tastes' alright! _Thank you guys for your support. I LOVE YOU!_

**Disclaimer:** Dark Angel and all related elements belong to Cameron Eglee Productions and FOX. No copyright infringement intended. Only original characters and ideas are mine. All use of Dark Angel themes, etc., is purely for entertainment purposes and I am in no way receiving benefit of any kind (aside from the satisfaction of writing things as I see fit!)

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**Chapter One**

* * *

Axel strolled down the street, eyes sparkling brightly and whistling a happy tune. One hand held bags of supplies Joshua had requested from the market, the other kept wandering down to pat his right pocket. It was there; the hard, square plastic box wherein nestled the reason for his excitement. Tonight was the night. He'd prepared himself for weeks, finally having gotten over his fear of rejection, knowing deep down that the object of his affections returned his feelings. Last night she had proven that many times over. Tonight he was going to pop the question. 

He was lost in pleasant thoughts, his mind drifting his girlfriend. Imagining Mena, squealing in delight as he slipped the ring on her finger, her pushing him back down on the couch, the promise of a night of passion unlike any other... So engrossed was he, that he failed to notice the two men in front of him until he collided with one of them. Looking up quickly, he smiled apologetically.

"My bad, man. I wasn't looking where I was going." The two thugs glared at him and he shuffled uneasily from one foot to the other, the smile on his face faltering slightly.

"Uh, guys? No harm, no foul, right?" They refused to budge and their faces pinched and creased with every moment that passed. Axel didn't want to fight. Instead, he turned on his heel and prepared to walk away only to be met by a further three men, well built and holding bats and heavy scrap metal. He took a deep breath and raised his hands in surrender.

"Maybe you've mistaken me for someone. I've never seen you before. I ain't got no beef with you."

A gruff voice from his right startled the edgy transgenic. "But we got beef with _you, _tranny scum," he snarled, lurching forward, tapping his bat against the palm of his beefy hand. Axel swallowed, hard. Sliding his hand further into his pocket, he quickly entered Alec's phone number and hit 'send', desperately hoping his friend would answer and that the call wouldn't be diverted to his voice mail.

"Hands where we can see them, filth!" another voice thundered from his right.

_Shit, I'm surrounded. _Axel knew he could handle himself in a fight, but not with these odds. He was unarmed and the men closing in on him from all sides carried weapons that could cause more than a little damage. _Goddamn it, Alec! Tell me you're hearing this!_

"Really, I think you mixed me up with someone else. I'm not lookin' for trouble." Axel turned to face the man he'd first run into.

Standing at six foot and a fair amount of change, with the physique of a weight lifter and the body art of a biker, the mammoth man stepped forward, brandishing a jagged knife and tossing it from hand to hand. "Maybe you're not, but we are." Nodding to his partners in crime, he signaled them to advance.

Axel tossed his bags at one of the thickset bullies, temporarily distracting him. Axel then made a run for it, blurring past him and out of the circle of threat. But his relief was short-lived when he noted that more than a few spectators had taken up clubs, shards of glass, broken bottles and other sharp objects. A chant rose from the mob.

"Kill the tranny! Kill the scum!"

Trapped, Axel spun wildly, thoughts running a mile a minute, his heart thumping painfully in his chest, pulse skyrocketing. He felt the trickle of sweat as beads made trails down his forehead and into his eyes, stinging him as he blinked to clear his vision and seek a miracle exit from this nightmare. His hands were clammy, his t-shirt now stuck to his back and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. _Hold it together, soldier. Alec's got your back. He always does._

But the fact of the matter was, he knew he was screwed. Even if Alec did figure it out, by the time they sent a rescue team he'd be as good as dead. Axel closed his eyes to blink back the tears that burned like acid. _Is this what Biggs felt before they beat him to death?_ Taking in a shaky breath, his heart ached for his friends; for Biggs who suffered what could only have been the most frightening experience of his short life, and for Alec, who'd had to witness the resulting carnage and loss of his best friend and Second in Command. _ I'm sorry Alec. I swore I'd never let anyone hurt you again. Who'da thought I'd be the one inflicting the pain?_

Seconds where he stood in wait of the impending and inevitable attack only served to increase his sense of helplessness. After all the years of torture at the hands of Manticore, of missions where he'd returned more dead than alive, Axel had never felt so powerless. _I've never been weak,_ he fumed inwardly. _I'm a soldier. If I have to die today, I'm gonna go down fighting._

Axel struck out at the man closest to him, his fist connecting with the brute's nose, bone crunching loudly on contact. A feral smile curved his lips. _One for the home team._ His kicks were wild, and at the same time, calculated and precise. He closed off his mind to block out the pain as best he could, for with each crack of his fist or snap of his leg, his attackers got their blows in too. His chest was heaving with strained breath, thanks to a double stab wound to his stomach. He was favoring his left leg after receiving a thorough pummeling to his right courtesy of a metal baseball bat. Axel grit his teeth and fought on.

But his strength was failing him, repeated blows to the head caused his vision to blur and the ringing in his ears rose to a deafening crescendo. It took everything he had to keep fending off his assailants, but the angry mob was getting the better of him. He was, after all, one man. Transgenic or not, he couldn't fight them all.

From the corner of his eye he saw a flash of metal swinging toward his temple. _I should have told you before. Mena, I love you. I'll always lo-_

Thwack

* * *

Max paced the small room with furious and uneven steps. She was feverish and aching. It had been three days and she was nearing the end of her self-imposed lock-down. She hated having to isolate herself, but it was a necessary evil. It all came down to her despised heat cycle. Her inability to act on her urges was frustrating, but she knew that giving in wasn't an option. 

Max would never admit it, but sharing her heat with Logan was something she couldn't bring herself to do. The explanation she gave him was true but it wasn't the main reason. She'd told Logan that there was a great possibility that in her animalistic state she might hurt his already weakened body. He'd argued with her, that she'd been with other Ordinaries while in heat and that they'd come out of it fine. But she'd countered, pretending to worry that she would put too much pressure on his damaged spine, and where would that leave them then? That the men she'd been with in the past were fully functional and healthy males. Max knew she'd hurt him, but it was the only way to make him accept her decision.

The real reason, though, was far more personal. Heat was a side effect of her feline DNA, something all X5 females suffered from. It was an intense, emotional and physical act; it's purpose not to pleasure but to procreate. It was the joining of two people who, in many cases, were bound to each other for life and were trying to create life between them.

Despite Max and Logan's current living status, she found that she couldn't tolerate his attentions when in heat the way she could in normal situations. No matter how great the physical need for sexual gratification, her body rebelled against the thought of sharing this time with anyone other than her chosen mate, _Alec. _And the heart-wrenching knowledge that she couldn't be with him made the thought of sharing her heat with someone else unbearable.

And so she found herself in an isolation room in Terminal City, sweating it out.

Dropping down to the floor to start another set of push ups, her mind wandered. Memories of a handsome, blonde transgenic male bombarded her as they were wont to do. During her heat the images replayed were sharper, more detailed. And more...undressed.

_Walking into his apartment late at night to ask for help in finding the Gossamer that was terrorizing Seattle._

_Watching as he exited the steam-filled bathroom clad in a small, blue towel that left little to the imagination._

_The golden skin of his beautifully sculpted chest still dripping wet from his shower._

_The droplet that trickled down past his nipple, barely bypassing his navel and disappearing..._

Max shook her head, trying to drive away the erotic images that plagued her. What use was there in dwelling on the could have beens, the should have beens, the if onlys? Biting back a sob, she thought back to those first few weeks after she'd pushed Alec away for good.

To others it seemed that her on-again, off-again relationship with Logan was once again in play. Max had spent the ensuing weeks after her vehement outburst on the Needle avoiding Alec. They hadn't spoken more than two words at any given time and their interaction had pretty much died out. So she'd pretended things were back to normal; she was back brooding over her non-relationship with the older man and supposedly pining for his touch. It got the job done. No one questioned the downhill spiral her friendship with Alec had taken; everyone assumed they'd fought - again. The rumors going around only cemented the lies. Some said she'd hit Alec one time too many and he'd finally told her where she could go. Others said that they'd slept together and that she'd found herself to be just another in a long line of conquests. So she'd let idle tongues wag and swallowed her pain, never letting on to anyone just how their hurtful words affected her.

Not long after receiving the devastating news that brought her dreams crashing down, Logan had found the cure to the virus. She'd never seen him so happy. And when he'd looked at her with eyes full of hope and longing, she'd forced a smile and faked excitement. The truth was, she no longer cared either way. It wasn't Logan she wanted. The man she ached to be with, dreamt about, she'd had to push away. For his own good. Knowing she could never give him what his heart longed for meant she had to deny her feelings. She knew she was selfish at times, but loving Alec had opened her eyes, made her _really_ see things, understand things. She couldn't put him in a position where he had to choose between her and his greatest, long-standing desire.

Max thought she'd have built up a resistance to it by now, that by having loved Logan for almost a year without being able to touch him she should have been immune to the pain. Especially now, having survived over a year of separation from Alec. But she wasn't; not by a long shot.

Max was jolted from her reverie by the jangling of her cell phone. Snapping to her feet, she crossed the room and retrieved her phone from the pocket of her leather jacket. Staring at the caller I.D. display, she froze.

_Alec._

Max raised a shaky hand to her forehead and wiped the sweat from her face. She tucked her hair behind her ear and flipped her phone open.

"Go for Max."

"Max, It's Alec. We have an emergency near South Market. Axel's surrounded by a crazed mob and needs back-up, fast." His voice was strained and fraught with worry. Axel was one of Alec's best friends, more so since Biggs had been killed the previous year. He was the closest thing Alec had to a brother.

The situation must have brought many a bad memory to mind for Alec. Biggs had been killed - lynched - by a mob of transgenic-hating Ordinaries and the current situation with Axel was hitting very close to home.

Max squeezed her eyes shut tightly. The one time Alec needed her she couldn't be there for him. He'd always had her back, yet now she was unable to return the favor. She felt sick.

"Alec, I can't," she finally let out.

"Logan keeping you busy with Eyes Only bullshit again?" he snapped curtly.

She hurried to explain herself. "You know I'd be there in a heartbeat if I could, but I can't." She paused and took a deep breath. Her voice lowered considerably as she added softly, "I'm in heat, Alec."

Max caught the faint gasp, followed by shallow breathing before it was quickly muffled. She hadn't been meant to hear it, of that she was certain. Max closed her eyes and sighed. She had wondered over time if he still loved her as he'd told her all that time ago. Was it wishful thinking? Hoping that what she'd heard was an indication that he did? Not that it mattered. She'd made her choice and let him go. And now he belonged to someone else.

"Let me know as soon as he's safe," she said quietly. "I'm sorry," she added lamely at the silence that followed.

Alec cleared his throat. "I will, and I know. Catch ya later, Max."

Max stared at the phone in her hand, a sad smile gracing her lips. _He never calls me Maxie anymore_.

- TBC -


	2. Chapter 2

**Alec uncovers the truth behind Max's Secret Gift.**

* * *

**Chapter Two**

* * *

_Stupid, fucking Ordinaries._ Quinn snorted derisively. With all the hype in the news about transgenic capabilities, he'd figured they would have known better.Axel was under police guard until he was healed enough to transfer to a private government facility for testing. The Ordinaries were clearly underestimating the transgenics' determination and loyalty and didn't expect a rescue attempt to be pulled off right under their noses. _ This'll be a cinch. _The hospital room Axel occupied was guarded from the outside, leaving their chosen infiltration route unobstructed. According to Alec, the guard was due to check in on Axel in the next couple minutes. Quinn motioned to Jake to follow as he successfully removed the metal grate of the air vent and dropped soundlessly to the floor.They quickly took up positions and waited.

Alec, Lianna and CeCe monitored the hallway to ascertain the guard rotations. There were two policemen watching the door at all times. _Just like a bad, pre-Pulse TV show,_ he thought with a grin.One old, working on crossword puzzles and sipping coffee, and the other young, smiling flirtatiously at the nurses and jumping up and down with pent-up nervous energy, tossing annoying comments to his older partner who grumbled in irritation.

CeCe nudged Alec's arm. "You said ten minutes, right? 'Cause I don't know if I'll be able to take too much of...that."

Alec chuckled, noticing her shiver of revulsion at the idea of 'distracting' the young guard. "I'm sure you'll be fine. Just let him cop a feel. We'll have Axel out of here in no time and then I'll buy you a drink to help you forget all about it."

"Easy for you to say," she muttered and he laughed outright. Turning to glare at him, she jabbed a finger in his chest. "What if our situations were reversed and it was you and Normal? How would you feel about letting him 'cop a feel'?"

Alec cringed and shuddered. "Point taken. Ce, you're our best shot. C'mon, I'll make it up to you."

"Damn straight," she replied testily, rising to her feet and adjusting her clothes. She was dressed to seduce and even Alec couldn't resist running his eyes over her revealing attire. Catching his smirk, she grit her teeth and straightened her shoulders before starting down the hall towards the policemen.

_ Right on schedule._ The older of the two men stepped into Axel's room to check on their prisoner, leaving the other man alone. He watched as CeCe successfully lured the younger cop into an empty room. Alec rushed to reach the lab on the other side of the building, knowing that time was limited. He was relieved to find Lianna inside, two lab techs out cold and stashed behind a tall cabinet.

Alec quickly scanned the vials and tubes on the desk. The table was littered with them, scattered haphazardly in all directions. He assumed the scuffle with Lianna caused the mess, and was thankful nothing had broken. Cleaning up physical evidence would have been that much harder.

He kept looking. Time was of the essence and he still couldn't find Axel's blood samples. _Shit. Where the hell are- _ His eyes fell on the microscope set at the far end of the worktop. _Bingo!_ Scooping up the vials, the slides that sandwiched his friend's blood and the note pad with scientific scrawling, he tossed them into his pack. Alec then hurried to wipe down the surfaces.

Lianna, meanwhile, was searching the computer for information on Axel. After several ineffective tries, she cursed her stupidity. She quickly entered a command and was surprised when two files appeared as opposed to one. She hadn't been aware that any other transgenics had been treated at Harbour Lights.

"Alec, take a look at this," she said, beckoning him with her finger and pointing to the screen. He closed the small distance and peered over her shoulder.

"Huh. We don't have time to analyze that right now. Gimme the file numbers so I can pull the hard copies and wipe the evidence from the computer. We've gotta go, _now_."

* * *

CeCe was trying her best to swallow her disgust as the young guard ran his hands eagerly over her body. Stifling a gag when he lay slobbering kisses over her mouth, she reluctantly moved her arms up and down his back, pulling him as close as she could manage without screaming.

_I'm so gonna kill you for this, Alec! _

Her heightened hearing caught the muffled sounds from across the hall. When silence fell again, she knew Jake and Quinn had been successful. Moments later, she heard the door open and close.

Trailing her fingers up either side of the man's neck, she wrapped them lightly around and leaned in as if to kiss him. He closed his eyes in anticipation, mouth pursed slightly. But the kiss never came. Instead, ragged gasping breaths escaped his lips until finally, he went limp beneath her hands. Dropping his deadweight to the floor, she muttered darkly. "When you come to, I hope you get an ass kicking from your superiors. God knows I'd do it myself if I had the time!" Wiping the back of her hand across her lips, she shuddered in remembrance of his saliva-slick mouth slabbering over her face.

Quietly exiting the room, she faced the three X5s. Quinn and Jake were supporting Axel, now dressed in the disguise they'd brought with them. A torn t-shirt saturated with whisky, worn jeans, sneakers and a baseball cap. The stench rolling off the unconscious transgenic was drawing attention. CeCe took matters into her own hands and slipped into the role easily, turning to yell at Jake and Quinn and drawing all eyes to her loud words and wildly gesturing hands.

"You bastards! He swore he wouldn't go drinking. But noooo! You guys had to change his mind. Were you trying to get him killed? And what do I get for all this? Hours in the hospital waiting to see if he was gonna die of alcohol poisoning and leave me knocked up and alone!" she raged, shaking her fists at the two X5s who were trying to keep from smiling. "Goddamn men!_ Fucking useless!_" she hissed.

CeCe was very convincing; more than a few women were murmuring their condolences and agreement. A few bystanders recoiled from the intensity of her outburst and cleared the way for the foursome, allowing unhindered passage right out of the hospital.

"Smart thinking there, Ce," Jake commented after a few long minutes of silence.

"Had a little pent-up anger that needed releasing," she grumbled.

"That bad?" Quinn teased, shifting Axel's heavy frame more comfortably on his shoulder.

"Alec owes me so big that his great, great grandchildren will be knee-deep in debt," she replied sourly.

"_That_ bad," Jake acceded with a knowing smile. CeCe would have hit him if not for the fact that he was supporting half of Axel's weight.

The moment of levity had passed and the three transgenics fell into an uneasy silence.

When they were a safe distance from the hospital, they made their way to the predetermined rally point where Lianna and Alec were waiting. Hoisting Axel up into the van, they gently laid him down. Kat went to work examining his injuries and setting up an IV drip.

"Will he be okay?" Mole asked over his shoulder as he started the engine.

The assembly of soldiers turned faces creased with worry to Kat. She sighed heavily.

"I don't know. I won't know until I can properly assess the damage and with the way he's been handled and Mole's driving..." her voice trailed off. Nodding at Alec she suggested, "You might want to call Mena."

* * *

Max had spent the better part of the last two weeks in her office within Terminal City. The inhabitants of the toxic waste site kept their distance, sensing her distress and pain. The anguished eyes ringed by dark circles, the perpetually sagging shoulders and the defeated air that surrounded her made them hesitant to approach her. It didn't stop the speculation though.

They thought she'd fought with Logan and had taken time out from their relationship to lick her wounds away from the nosy Ordinary. She didn't bother to correct them. When Logan called looking for her, he was told that she would contact him when she was ready, that she was dealing with issues she wished to keep to herself. He tried relentlessly to get through to her but to no avail, and finally he gave up altogether.

Her door was always shut and faint sounds of hiccups and sniffling could be heard through the thin walls of her office. Max had only left her office once since she'd holed up in there ten days prior. Joshua brought her food regularly but the trays were often left untouched. By the middle of the second week, the transgenics decided something needed to be done. They put the task to Alec, who'd been her closest friend. Even though their relationship had been terribly strained over the last year, he was still the most likely candidate to shake her from her funk.

Alec had been tempted to go to her earlier, especially after Lianna relayed Max's initial reaction to his inquiry.

_"Max, Alec asked me to inform you that the team sent to retrieve Axel is back. Went off without a hitch. We got all the files and physical evidence. The mission was a success."_

_Max had been worried about Axel and wished she'd been able to help with the rescue. Her heat had finished not long after the team went out and she'd gone to her office to do some work, take her mind off things._

_ "How's he doing?"_

_"Kat says he'll recover. Mena was fit to kill, as you can imagine." Max looked up in alarm. "Don't worry, even though most of us would love to get our revenge, Alec talked them out of doing anything stupid."_

_Max was relieved that Axel was alive and on the road to recovery. And she was glad that Alec had things under control. But then again, he always did. She smiled and offered thanks to Lianna and returned to the pile of paperwork spread out before her. She noticed that Lianna hadn't made a move to leave and glanced up at her with questioning eyes._

_"Is there something else you wanted?" she asked._

_"Alec gave me this file to give to you. He wants to know if you were aware of any female X5s that were treated by Dr. Carr last year. We found a Jane Doe with X5 specific DNA markers, but none of the information seems familiar." She slid a thin folder across the surface of the desk._

_Max frowned, deep in thought. The only female X5 she knew of that had any connection to Carr was herself, and it was highly unlikely that her information would be on file at the hospital. Sam Carr knew what was what and he wouldn't risk exposing her like that._

_Flipping the file open, Max scanned the pages quickly, gasping when she came to a particular printout. Her face drained of color and she dropped the folder, pages scattering over the floor. Her mouth opened to form words that tumbled forth too quietly for even Lianna to grasp. But her lip reading skills didn't fail her._

_'It can't be. It's not true. It can't be true. God, no. No.'_

_Lianna's brow furrowed as she watched her friend's lips move. She noted the pallor of Max's skin and her unfocused gaze transfixed on a far wall over her shoulder. She bent down to retrieve the documents Max had dropped. She skimmed them, trying to discern the reason for Max's apparent shock and almost incoherent mumbling._

_The page consisted of lab test results and a recommendation, and was stamped 'Original'. The printed red words caught Lianna's eye and she peered closer._

_'Patient has been cleared of all traces of genetic defects or mutation. All concerns regarding her ability to conceive were unwarranted.'_

_Lianna was about to ask Max if she was alright of if she could bring her some water, something to bring the color back to her face, when she heard Max whisper pleadingly, "I need to be alone."_

_Dipping her head in acknowledgement of the other woman's request for privacy, Lianna placed the rest of the paperwork on Max's desk and slowly made her way out of the office, pulling the door quietly closed behind her._

Alec had wondered at Lianna's revelation. It wasn't their business to pry, but she thought he might like to know why Max refused to step foot out of her office or receive any visitors.

He wondered if Max and Logan had been trying for a family and almost choked on the thought. He may have moved on, was even happy with Hailey and thankful for his son, but nothing had yet eased the pain of losing Max. And the thought of her having children with Logan was something he wasn't ready to deal with.

Given her reaction, Alec now knew that the documents he and Lianna had stolen from the hospital were hers, and that they clearly contained bad news. What he didn't know was why it upset her so much. The situation bordered on ridiculous and he refused to let her wallow any longer.

Alec took a deep breath and knocked on Max's door.

- TBC -


	3. Chapter 3

**Alec uncovers the truth behind Max's Secret Gift.**

* * *

**(A huge shout of thanks to Kimmy and Kathleen for their invaluable input and suggestions,  
and to Sonam for beta assistance, Amelia, Naj and everyone else for the friendship and support that got me this far!  
Can you believe it? AN UPDATE! Hee!) **

**

* * *

**

**Deceptions: Chapter Three **

* * *

Silence. No reply. He hadn't been asked to enter but he hadn't been turned away either. Squaring his shoulders, Alec rattled the doorknob. It was locked, as expected. 

"Max," he called softly through the door. "Can I come in?"

"I want to be alone," came the muffled reply from within.

"Max, this is crazy. You've been _alone_ for over a week! Come on, open up." The silence returned. "Please?" he added finally, his request bordering on a plea.

Shuffled movements, a chair scraping the floor and the quiet pad of footsteps raised a hopeful smile to his lips. The door swung open and his smile fell at the sight that met his eyes.

Max looked like hell. Her clothing was rumpled and damp, her hair matted and lusterless. Eyes that were usually bright and shining were puffy and red rimmed, ringed with heavy, dark circles. Her complexion was sallow; her normally golden skin pasty, her lips cracked and bleeding, and telltale tracks from dried tears lined her cheeks.

She stared at him wordlessly, unfocused, as he took in her appearance. When he found his voice again, Alec couldn't keep the worry from his tone.

"Max, what the hell is going on? I've been worried about you. Hell, all of Terminal City is worried about you! You look like you've been through hell, and-" He stopped as a half-sob, part-hiccup choked its way from between Max's dry, cracked lips. He reached out to her, but her body tensed and she shrank back before facing him with tightly drawn lips. Slowly releasing a breath, her eyes flashing angrily, she spoke coldly.

"I'm not dead yet. Now you can report back and maybe everyone will finally _leave me the_ _hell alone_!"

Alec, normally used to Max's scathing tongue, flinched at the venomously hissed words. Refusing to back down, he pressed onward in his search for answers and understanding.

"Max, look at what you're doing to yourself! Locking yourself away from the world, not eating or sleeping," expecting her typical response he hurriedly added, "and don't give me that crap about shark DNA. Even _you _need sleep. It's not healthy! Can't you see we're all worried? C'mon, Max, talk to me."

There was nothing that she wanted more than to tell Alec what had happened. To have him take her in his arms like he used to do, to comfort her, reassure her that everything would be okay. But she knew he couldn't, that it wouldn't. Everything was so beyond her reach and it was pointless to try.

From the corner of her eye, Max saw Alec slowly moving closer. She made the mistake of catching his gaze and froze at the look of anxiety she discerned there. In turn, Alec saw something he'd never thought to find in her eyes; sheer hopelessness and deep hurt.

"What happened, Max? Tell me?" he pleaded, concern and worry creasing his face.

Tears that seemed to come all too easily flooded her eyes again, and without further thought, he pulled her into a tight embrace. She seemed to melt into him, pressing close to the warmth his body provided until his scent registered. Stiffening, she wrenched herself from his arms abruptly. She missed the look of hurt he threw at her as she turned away.

"I'm fine. I just needed to sort things out on my own. Why can't you leave me alone? This past year you managed just fine. Why start now?" she bit out through clenched teeth.

"_You _pushed _me_ away, remember? I laid my heart on the line and you made it clear you wanted nothing to do with me. I-" Alec stopped suddenly, running a hand through his hair in distraction and balling his fists in frustration. "Look, Max, I didn't come here to argue with you. I came to find out what the hell is going on. You're freaking me out, damn it! You're practically a ghost! Whatever it is that's hurting you, you've gotta get past it! Letting this eat at you is killing you slowly. You're a shadow. What happened to 'tough girl' Max? Where's the kick-ass chick that doesn't let shit get her down?"

Max glared at Alec. "Like I said, I'm dealing with it. Just leave. I don't really feel up to kicking ass today."

"You're dealing with it." Alec snorted. "I can see that. You look like shit. And I bet even one of the X8s could take you down right about now." Would the taunting work? The fire and passion that was Max was nowhere to be seen. He couldn't bear to see her this defeated.

Max's posture went rigid, her back impossibly straight and head held high. "I _said_, I'm _dealing_ with it. _Just drop it,"_ she growled.

_Finally. There's the spirit, Maxie._ Softening his tone, Alec stepped closer and laid a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. "Is it Logan? Are you two having problems?"

Max's shoulder slumped and the oppressive air of defeat that had been lifted for a short while, crashed down around her again. _We've had nothing but problems since I got back from Manticore with the damn virus. We've had problems since I shut you out. I'm still in love with you. Of course we're having problems!_

When she didn't answer or retaliate physically as he might have expected - though considering the lack of interaction they'd had he didn't really know what to expect - he ventured, "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Max knew Alec was persistent. And that he could irritate her into opening up, something she had to avoid at all costs. But she also knew that if she didn't get this off her chest, she would self-destruct. She'd kept her secret for so long only to learn that it was a lie. But she couldn't let Alec find out the truth.

Turning to face the man she loved, she gathered every reserve of rage and resentment she could muster and literally flew at him, fists striking home.

"Why would I talk to you! I never asked you to get involved in my life! My business is my own. Whatever is happening between me and Logan is between me and Logan! Damn it, Alec! Can't you leave it alone! Fuck! Do I ask you about Hailey? Do I get in your face when I see you-"

Max bit her tongue fiercely, drawing blood. Palms pressed flat against his chest, she shoved Alec away forcefully. _What the hell is wrong with me! _she thought wildly. She'd almost admitted that she worried about him. That whenever she saw him looking at her with that best-left-unnamed emotion in his eyes all she wanted to do was pull him into her arms and tell him everything would be okay. That she really did care.

_Damn it, girl! Get it together! _She shook herself mentally. _I have to get out of here!_ Grabbing her jacket from the back of her chair, Max made a mad dash for the door. The speed with which she exited the room made Alec spin. She was a blur and then she was gone.

Alec was more than a little confused at her outburst. She was angry, but somehow he didn't feel that the anger was directed at _him_. Rubbing his jaw, he walked over to Max's desk and picked up the tearstained file that lay on the tabletop.

_'Patient has been cleared of all traces of genetic defects or mutation. All concerns regarding her ability to conceive were unwarranted.'_

The words stood out in bold, red letters. But that wasn't what held his attention. It was the date at the top of the document.

His forehead creased in concentration as he thought back to the date printed on the page. Frowning, he reread the contents of the file, nibbling absentmindedly on his thumb all the while.

_'Patient has been cleared...All concerns...unwarranted.'_

Alec tiredly rubbed at his temples, trying to massage away the ache that had slowly built since he'd stepped into the room. He glanced down at the medical report once more. Squinting in concentration, teeth worrying his lower lip, he shuddered as the idea of what it all could mean crept into his mind. _Surely not, _he chastised himself. But the sense that something just didn't add up made him uneasy. _Maybe...no._

Unwilling to allow his thoughts to follow the alarming path they'd begun; Alec braced his shoulders and tried to shake his unease. He was concerned for Max. He hoped that she really had decided to talk to someone. If he was lucky she'd turn to the only person she ever really opened up to.

* * *

Cindy was shell-shocked. Max stood framed in the doorway, wet hair plastered to her head, looking dishevelled and devastated. Grasping her friend's hands with her own, Cindy shivered. Max was as cold as ice and looking like death warmed over. In all the years she'd known her boo, the transgenic had never had this aura of frailty and it scared her to see Max so unguarded. White had done some serious damage in the past but that paled in comparison to the stark, naked vulnerability and broken spirit that emanated from her friend. 

Dragging the shaking girl to the couch, Cindy pushed her down against the cushions and hurried to the kitchen to make some coffee. Returning minutes later she found Max in the same position she'd left her; sitting ramrod straight, hands clasped in her lap and staring blankly ahead.

She thrust the steaming mug into Max's hands, hoping that the heat would thaw more than her friend's icy fingers. "Drink up, boo. You need to get warm. I'll go get you a change of clothes."

Rummaging around in Max's dresser, she pulled out a pair of sweats and a fresh tank. Depositing them on the side of the tub in the bathroom, Cindy returned to the living room and shook her head. The coffee was untouched, still locked within Max's hands. Gently extracting the cup from her grasp, Cindy placed it on the coffee table and tugged at the now free hands that had fallen limply to Max's lap.

"Clothes are in the bathroom, boo. Pull yourself together, girl, and get yo' ass dry. Don't make me lay the smack-down on you," she threatened, not altogether teasingly. Max slowly shook herself from her daze and met Cindy's concerned gaze with slightly glazed eyes.

"Thanks," she said softly, rising from the couch and treading quietly to the bathroom.

Cindy was trying to wrap her head around the situation. Max looked beaten, emotionally wiped. And for once, she felt certain that it wouldn't take much for Max to confess whatever it was that was bothering her. It was clearly something big; her girl had never had such a deadened look in her eyes and Cindy's heart ached to see it.

The shower turned off and minutes later Max exited the steam-filled bathroom, hair encased in a tightly wound towel, body dressed and dry. Some color had returned to her cheeks and her movements were decidedly steadier. But her friend's eyes were dull and almost lifeless; her shoulders slumped as if burdened by the weight of the whole world and then some.

Original Cindy patted the space beside her on the sofa. "Sit down, boo, and tell me what's weigh'n you down like there's no tomorrow."

Max slunk slowly across the room and sunk into the lumpy cushions, exhaling softly. Original Cindy curled an arm around Max's slim shoulders and squeezed gently in a show of silent comfort and strength. As Max lifted her legs onto the couch, tucking them beneath her and leaning closer into her friend's side, Cindy could have sworn she felt the emptiness and pain wafting from the broken girl.

They sat just holding each other for some time. Cindy knowing that Max needed time to collect her thoughts and Max knowing her friend would wait until she was ready. She relished the companionable silence, welcomed the familiar routine of days past when life seemed so much simpler and responsibilities weren't half as hard.

Then came the tears.

They stung her eyes, and despite her attempts to stem the flow, they spilled from her lashes and down her cheeks.

As the flow increased, her breath caught and came in gasps intermingled with choking sobs. Cindy turned her friend in her arms and held her closer as the weeping Transgenic shuddered and heaved into her neck. Finally, she pulled away and wiped her eyes, looking down desolately at the hands resting in her lap. Max opened her mouth to speak, only to shut it again suddenly. She glanced at Cindy for a moment, but a moment was all it took the other girl to glimpse the shattered look in her eyes.

"What happened, boo?" she prompted softly, lightly squeezing Max's shoulder again.

Max slowly and quietly began the tale of her heartache and loss. The words poured out; things she thought she would take to the grave and never share with another tumbled forth from her lips, barely coherent. Cindy sat in silence, at once shocked and dismayed, angry and sympathetic, but all the while confused.

"So you thought you couldn't have kids and now you can. Logan don't want any and you're afraid?"

Max shook her head, tears that had slowed to a halt started afresh. Swallowing hard, she continued her explanation, and noting the look of pity in her best friend's eyes, she gasped sharply.

"Don't you see? I-" Hiccup. "All this time, I could have-" Gasp. Sniffle. "I pushed him away because I thought I had to...that he deserved better," she finished in a broken whisper.

Original Cindy tightened her arms around Max and nodded, rubbing her shoulder soothingly. She wasn't about to guess aloud who Max was talking about but it didn't take a genius to notice that her friend hadn't been the same since the falling out she'd had with Alec a year ago. She'd always wondered what they'd fought over, everything between them before that had seemed to be going so well. All that bickering and rough play on Max's part had been stemming from sexual tension. Cindy had even been tempted to tease Max on it at one point before everything had taken a nosedive.

"How can you say that? There ain't nobody more deservin' than you. You're the most caring-"

"Don't," Max sobbed. "The worst part is that _I_ created this mess, and now I have to live with it. I can never tell him."

"Tell _who_, boo?" Cindy prodded gently.

"Alec. I thought I couldn't have kids so I let him go..." her voice trailed off and Max shut her eyes tightly. The moment she spoke the words she felt as if a weight had been lifted. _He was right,_ she thought with a sad quirk of the lips. _Alec was right. _She had needed to tell someone.

Original Cindy was at a loss for words. She understood what might have made Max chose to let Alec go, but what about Alec? After a moment's contemplation, she realized the repercussions of that truth. Even if Max wanted to, she couldn't tell Alec now. How would it change things? He had Hailey, his son and a new life he had built with them. She understood what Max meant by having created this mess now. Not long after the fall out they'd had, Hailey had turned on the charm, and Alec... Well, as much as she'd like to fault Max and Hailey entirely, Alec was a guy. _Why can't the good ones play for the all-girls' team? Save 'em a lotta grief, if y'ask me,_ she thought with a sigh.

"But you can?" Cindy asked, needing definitive clarification on the one point.

Max dropped her head a little and Cindy took that for affirmation. "Somehow the results got mixed up and I got the short end of the stick. Love sucks," she snorted bitterly.

Cindy shook her head. "Not always boo, but I hear ya. You know, might be a start to ask how things got screwed up in the first place. Dr. Carr might not have answers that'll fix anything, but..."

"He's a doctor, not a shrink, OC," Max said with a half smile.

Original Cindy put her hands up in defense. "Whatever... they all too smart for their boots." Squeezing her tightly one last time, she stood and stared down at Max.

"So you gonna grill him solo, or you need your home girl to help put the smack down on 'im for the grief he caused ya?"

* * *

Alec made his way to Terminal City's infirmary to check up on Axel's progress. He entered the recovery room to find Mena draped unceremoniously across Axel's thigh. His friend was wide awake and seemingly deep in thought, his fingers pulling idly through the young woman's soft, auburn locks. 

Alec cleared his throat. "Hey man, how you holdin' up?"

"Everything's just peachy," Axel groused. "I feel like crap. Mole says I look it, too. Like I went through a meat grinder." He grinned lopsidedly, as his friend smirked his concurrence. "So, what's news?"

Alec filled Axel in on the Max situation and the convalescing Transgenic knitted his brow in concern. "So there was a mix-up. Now she knows the truth. Why do you think she's in such a funk? Any idea what's really going on with her, Alec?"

Alec's lips thinned and his eyes hardened. "I've got a theory but I don't really want to know. There's got to be more to it. If, well, it would be-" he shut up quickly. Axel might be his best friend but he couldn't bring himself to express what he was feeling, to voice the thoughts running through his mind. Sharing emotions between men was just too weird. And giving life to the ideas...the possibilities were just too painful.

"I'm cold," Axel whined suddenly, breaking the heavy silence.

Alec smirked. "Looks like you've got a nice, comfy blanket, there." Taking a more serious tone he added, "Mena hasn't left your side since they brought you in. We weren't sure how you'd react when you woke; she wanted to be the first thing you saw."

Axel chuckled, wincing slightly in pain. "And look what I got to see - your ugly mug."

"You're lucky you can see at all. That's a nasty gash over your left eye, bro. For a while there, Kat thought you'd lose the eye. 'Sides, aren't I sexy enough for you?"

"Didn't know you swung that way, Hamburger," came a deep voice from the doorway. Both Transgenics turned to find Mole leaning against the doorjamb, his customary unlit cigar dangling from his lips. "Does she?" he inquired teasingly, pointing to the redhead rousing slowly from slumber.

Axel sneered, but before he could reply, the woman began to stir.

"Do I wha- _Axel!_" She scrambled to her feet, chair toppling backwards in her haste to throw her arms around her man. "God, I thought I'd lost you," she whispered, peppering frantic kisses all over her boyfriend's face. Axel tightened his arms around her slim form and burrowed his nose in her hair as she sobbed into his neck. Flicking his gaze over her head to his two friends, he nodded in dismissal.

"But it's such a touching reunion," Alec cooed teasingly. "I wanna stay. Can _I_ have a hug?"

Axel flipped him the bird, glared and jabbed a finger in the direction of the door.

Alec threw his hands up in mock surrender. "Alright, alright, we're going," he muttered good humouredly. "Oh, and Ax?" he added as he reached the door, "You might want this," he called as he tossed a small black box that had been salvaged from the wounded Transgenic's pocket, earlier. Axel caught it deftly in one hand and smiled at his friend. The box was in pristine condition, surprisingly undamaged. His eyes twinkled with anticipation and delight.

"Good luck, Meatball," Mole added with a stiff salute and a wink.

Axel's grin widened and then disappeared beneath a tangle of auburn tresses.

- TBC -


	4. Chapter 4

**DECEPTIONS**

**Chapter Four**

Disclaimer: See first chapter.

A/N: A huge "Thank you!" to Mandie, Shy, Sonam and Tiffany for helping set me straight, giving me the needed encouragement and for making me face my demons and not allowing me to run and cower instead. I love you!

(Right. So any praise, they are as deserving as I, and any complaints... I'M INNOCENT!)

* * *

They'd made it to the Medical Center in record time, even with the detour to Terminal City to collect the relevant information. It was their lack of foresight that had Max overwrought, and Original Cindy wished she could have spared her friend the anxiety.

Cindy glanced at Max from the corner of her eye. Her friend seemed a little less peaked, less strained than she had earlier that day. Perhaps it was the hopeful anticipation that someone could provide answers to the questions that plagued her, perhaps just the idea of closure, regardless of whether or not it was a happy ending. Whatever the reason, Cindy was grateful for the change. She only wished the good doctor would hurry up.

Cindy watched her friend slap the folder in her hand against her thigh, bounce her leg on the ground and chew her gum loudly. She rose from her seat, paced the room and then dropped back onto the couch, letting out a ragged sigh. She repeated the process twice.

Patience wasn't one of Max's strengths. They'd been told to take a seat in the waiting room as Dr. Carr had a long line of patients to be seen, but the Transgenic wanted answers and it seemed to Cindy that she wasn't going to sit quietly any longer. Max bounded from her seat and turned towards the closed door on the other side of the room.

"Boo?" Cindy asked, reaching out her hand to grasp the other girl's arm. "I really don't think-"

Max shook her off with a sharp look, her facial expression hard and unforgiving. "Then don't," she snapped. "I'm done waiting."

Completely disregarding the loud complaints coming from angry patients and ignoring the fact that Sam Carr was conducting an appointment, Max threw open the door.

Without sparing a glance at the half-dressed, agitated woman sitting before Dr. Carr, she hauled the woman up against her loud protestations, and chucked her from the room, slamming and locking the door behind her.

Sam Carr stared in shock. "Max?" he asked incredulously. "What on earth-"

"Stuff it, Carr. I want answers," she growled angrily, tossing the file open onto his desk and shoving his head forcibly forward. "Look at this and tell me what you see. Then you can explain why you lied to me!"

Carr opened his mouth to retort but seeing the murderous look in her eyes, thought better of it and turned his attention to the documents. Minutes passed in silence. It was only after the doctor's sharp intake of breath that she was prompted to speak again.

"Well? I'm waiting."

Carr's face was pale and his eyes wide. "I have no idea how this could have happened. The results I gave you are the ones I myself received. If I had know they were forged do you honestly think I would pass them off as real? Have I ever lied to you, Max? I had no idea, I swear. I can't tell you how sorry I am."

Max nodded grimly. "Is there any way to find out how this happened? Who else could have known? Someone went to a lot of trouble to doctor these results. And what's more, they left copies in the _hospital _records. Who would do this? Why?"

Sam Carr shrugged. "No one else knew I was conducting those tests, Max; Just you and Logan. If it hadn't happened so long ago I would have suggested pulling up security footage but those would have been recorded over months ago. I'm sorry, Max, I don't know what else to say."

Noting her silence and the intent glare she focused on him, he added, a tad angrily, "Most doctors would have turned you in for a reward. But I haven't. Logan is my friend, as are you, by extension. I wouldn't do that to you, Max, any more than I would lie about something like this."

Max let out a defeated sigh. "I'm sorry, Sam. It's just been very upsetting."

Sam eyed her contemplatively. "I don't understand, Max. You just found out that you _can_ have kids. I mean, I get that you were angry about the mix-up, but shouldn't you be excited now? Weren't you hoping to start a family with Logan?"

Max felt a pang at the mention of Logan's name, and it wasn't sadness or worry.

"It wasn't Logan, was it," he surmised shrewdly, having seen the look of distaste on her face.

_What could it hurt?_ she asked herself. "No, we'd been broken up for a while at that point."

Sam patted her shoulder sympathetically, trying to convey his regret. It had just registered that she might have been hoping for a future with someone else, a future that this terrible mistake had ended before it could really begin. He couldn't apologize enough.

"I can't say it enough, Max; I am so, so sorry."

Max bit back tears and smiled sadly.

"Yeah, me too."

* * *

Max dropped Cindy off at home, but rather than stay with her friend - who wanted nothing more than to comfort and be there for her - she took to the road in an attempt to clear her head. 

Normally that would be enough. She always felt free on the road with nothing but the wind in her hair and the soothing purr and rumble of the engine beneath her. Today, however, she was finally awakening and the multitude of thoughts running through her mind were staggering.

Max made her way up to her favorite perch, the Space Needle. The height, so far above ground, gave her a weightless feeling and the distance from human life was comforting. It helped to be detached when one needed to sort through problems. No one bothered her here; the only ones who seemed to know about her preferred hideout were Logan, who was scared shitless of heights, and Alec. And the likelihood of being interrupted by Alec was slim to none.

So reasoning, Max inched her way to the ledge and settled down, grasping her bent legs with both hands and resting her chin on her knees. Gazing out upon the Seattle skyline, she allowed herself to be consumed by her thoughts and quickly got lost within her own mind.

After she'd scorned Alec, rebuffed and attacked him, she'd left and gone home to lick her wounds in private. She'd told no one of that day, of the truth, of the reasons behind her failed friendship with the man she loved, had said nothing of her reasons for rekindling the dead relationship she shared with Logan. She hadn't proven or disproved any rumours, she'd refrained from answering the questions of concerned friends and colleagues. She'd retreated into herself as a defence against the pain of her self-imposed exile from love.

Then Logan found the cure. He'd been so happy, almost triumphant and, she realized, perhaps a bit smug. Having been the only person who even had an inkling as to the reasons she'd distanced herself from Alec, she was surprised now that she thought about it. He hadn't seemed sorry. For all Logan's declarations of understanding, of love for her and his desire to see her happy, no matter who she was with, he was altogether too pleased with himself when he'd taken the cure that allowed them to touch.

Max had been so starved for love, so desperate for a warm, gentle touch, that she ignored the niggling feelings of doubt and mistrust that lingered beneath the surface. She'd pushed them to the back of her mind and hidden them under layers of guilt and shame. Guilt at her treatment of Alec, at lying to herself that things would be okay with time, shame at having gone back to Logan, at not having told Alec the truth...so many layers. And so she'd forgotten.

But Max had rationalized her thoughts and actions, figuring that Alec, being as he was, might overlook his own wants and desires to keep her happy. And the last thing she wanted was for him to resent that choice later in life, when it might be too late. He had deserved more than she could give, or so she had thought.

Her relationship with Logan was strained at the best of times, but even with the arguments and fights, no matter how many priceless pieces of art she shattered in anger, no matter how many times he insulter her and her kind, they stayed together. Max had created a gulf between herself and the other Transgenics just by her treatment of Alec, and when that connection failed, she felt alienated in every way from the only place she'd ever _truly_ felt at home.

Yes, she could admit that fully, now. Terminal City felt like home because the inhabitants understood what it was like to be hunted and feared, to be different. They knew what it was like to enjoy things Ordinaries would deem horrific and immoral, to want and feel things the Norms would never understand.

Twelve years on the outside and she'd never felt as isolated as she did at this moment. Transgenics aside, the only ones who knew her, really knew her, were Original Cindy and Logan. Cindy knew about her past, her abilities, and had even seen her in action. There had been a short while where Max knew she'd frightened her best friend beyond imagining, and yet the girl stuck with her. For that she would be forever grateful. But Cindy didn't know the half of it and Max didn't plan on enlightening her any further.

And while Logan knew and swore he was okay with who and what she really was, Max knew deep down that he turned a blind eye to things when it suited him and threw them in her face when he needed a weapon. She realized now, too late, that she'd wasted so much time on something that would never last. He'd never loved her, not really.

Sitting up a little straighter, Max sucked in a deep breath. Finally, she was free of her prison. Of the gilded cage that her useless pretending had wrought.

It was time for a new start. One that didn't include Logan, Eyes Only or a life as someone she could never truly be, and now that she admitted it, as someone she didn't _want_ to be.

She might never have the man she loved, but she could make a life that would be worth living.

* * *

After close to two weeks of having Max holed up in her office, Headquarters seemed empty without her. It wasn't that she'd been loud or taxing on the residents of the place, but she'd _been there._ And here he was, days later, having yet to see hide or hair of Max. From what he'd heard, she'd disappeared for part of the day after their confrontation in her office, and resurfaced for a few minutes only to leave again. 

Alec hadn't called or visited Original Cindy, but he knew from Sketchy that the girl had moved back into her old apartment. Alec was concerned that the rift that had grown between Max and Logan during her depressed state hadn't been repaired. And as much as he disliked the other man, so long as he made Max happy, that was all that mattered.

He kicked himself mentally. _Why do you do this to yourself? She rejected you a long time ago. You've moved on. Why do you still care?_ He had to laugh at that. Because no matter what happened, Alec knew he would always care about Max, he would always worry about her. And given all that had transpired, after having seen her defeated and hopeless, all he really wanted was to know that Max was okay. _She's got me completely whipped. _He wondered if Cindy could shed any light on the situation. And if there was anything he could do to help. _Yep. Totally, utterly whipped._

It was the end of a long day of hard runs to the furthest sectors of the city. With Max giving Houdini a run for his money, Alec, Sketchy and Original Cindy had picked up her slack to take the heat off the tortured girl and keep Normal out of her hair. His body ached and he was tired, but all thoughts of relaxation disappeared when he spotted Cindy making her way out the door.

"Cindy, hold up!" he called after the girl, smirking when she turned, frustrated and impatient.

"Oh, it's you," she said dismissively, continuing out the door and making a beeline for her bicycle. He followed quickly on her heels.

"I was wondering how...if, well, how Max is doing," he said softly, stumbling slightly on the words, unsure of how to go about asking would once have been so normal but was now all too foreign.

"Not too good, Alec, but my homegirl's gettin' there. She seen better days, that for sure, and this thing with Logan ain't helpin' any."

"Look, OC, I know about the test results. That there was some kind of mistake, or whatever, but I don't get it. If Max and Logan were trying to," he paused, choking on the words, it was that difficult for him, "have kids," he inhaled and exhaled slowly, "I don't get why she was so upset."

Cindy eyed him shrewdly. "You gotta take that up with Max, but lemme say this. Logan's more trouble than he worth, and OC be thinkin' her girl finally got a clue; far as I know they still not talkin'. There's a lot you not aware of, and you should be, but like Original Cindy said, it ain't her place."

Alec studied the face of the girl before him, seeing her sympathetic eyes. He paid attention to the tone of her voice, the words she'd stressed, the slight change in pitch when she mentioned Logan, and the unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach, the one he'd felt when he first considered the implications of Max's discovery and subsequent downward spiral, returned.

He watched after her as she departed and finally gave in to the urge that had been building since he'd last seen Max.

_Old man's gotta stop dickin' Max around or he'll be losing the best thing he ever had._

He was going to have a chat with Logan.

* * *

Night had fallen but the windows of the penthouse were dark, indicating the absence of its occupant. Alec debated with himself; to leave or wait? But in the end he decided not to put it off. Max was miserable, of that he was certain, and if Logan was the key to ending her misery, he'd be the bigger man and stick it out. 

Alec knocked just in case but when no reply was forthcoming, he picked the lock and let himself into the apartment. He helped himself to some scotch, an expensive pre-Pulse brand that Logan favored, and sat down on the couch in wait.

He sat for the better part of an hour, deep in thought, when curiosity got the better of him. The cyber-journalist had always rubbed him the wrong way, and while Max swore that he was a good guy with only the people's best interests at heart, Alec wasn't so sure. In his experience, every philanthropist or humanitarian had another agenda, even if it was just recognition and glory.

_No one is _that _much of a bleeding heart, right?_

Settling down in front of the computer, Alec started sifting through odd files, opening things that might potentially be shady or that sounded vaguely familiar. When he stumbled across a particular folder, his eyes widened in surprise. He clicked it open to view the contents and his mouth dropped in shock.

Alec stared at the monitor in confusion. Double-clicking on one of the sound clip files, he turned up the volume and listened with growing horror and disbelief.

_"What the fuck?!"_

TBC

* * *

A quick thank you to all my loyal readers and wonderful friends for your words of encouragement and the reviews that are fuel to the fire! My apologies for the delay, but take that up with my muse. She's nasty.

Shay


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

_(Thanks go out to CandyCentric for helpful suggestions :) You rock, babe!)_

* * *

Alec listened intently to the recorded transmission, filtering out the static and wind and concentrating intently on the words being spoken. His initial reaction was quickly replaced by anger and indignation on behalf of himself, his friends and above all others, Max. 

The folder contained close to one hundred clips of recorded conversations ranging from discussions at Jam Pony during lunch break to arguments between the himself and Max to Cindy's intimate interludes with her girlfriend to Max gratifying herself in what she thought was the privacy of her own home. Alec found himself feeling a bit hot under the collar as he heard Max keening and crying his name in passion. And he allowed himself a moment of regret and longing for the woman he still loved but had lost.

It was clear to Alec that Logan had somehow managed to bug not only Max's person, but her workplace and her apartment, or had been close enough to use a long-range mic to capture Max's interactions with others. The man had no qualms invading Max's personal space and privacy, and had blatantly broken her trust by spying on her.

He leaned back in the chair and ran a hand over his face all the while desperately trying to wrap his mind around this shocking revelation. _Logan_ _is a psycho! This isn't love, it's a sick obsession!_ Needing to know, now, more than ever, just how far reaching Logan's unhealthy interest in Max's dealings was, he squared his shoulders and reached for the mouse.

* * *

Axel relaxed back into the freshly fluffed pillows Mena had slipped behind his back and sighed contentedly. He smiled at the woman he loved, watching her fumbling and befuddled attempts to make him comfortable. 

"Mena, baby, stop running and just sit with me! You haven't stopped for days."

She turned flashing eyes to glare at him and planted her hands on her hips. "I can't, Axel! Don't you get it?! I can't just sit. I sat for days. Days, dammit! Waiting and hoping and wondering if I was going to lose you! I need to know you're okay, need to make sure you-" A sob escaped her throat and her face scrunched up when the enormity of the situation seemed to break over her.

Axel longed to cross the room and go to her side, to take her in his arms and comfort her, but he was confined to the bed for the time being and in no shape to sit up on his own, let alone walk. He bit his lip, wishing he wasn't so helpless, watching as tears ran down her cheeks, her chest heaving with deep, shuddering breaths.

"I - you - I -" she hiccupped violently, unable to form a full sentence in her state of distress.

"Mena, baby, look at me," he called softly, willing her to look see him through her tears. "Look at me," he repeated firmly. She raised red rimmed eyes to meet his and he opened his arms to her.

Mena all but flew across the room and into his embrace. He ignored the pain and pressure in his bruised chest and arms and held tight to the one woman who meant the world to him.

"I'm sorry I scared you, Me, but I'm fine now. I'm home, I'm right here and I'm not going _anywhere_, baby," he cooed softly in her ear, rubbing his hand soothingly up and down her back as she sobbed into his shoulder.

When Mena's breathing finally calmed, she laid her head on his chest and traced random patterns with her fingers. Her voice was almost a whisper when she spoke.

"I almost lost you and I never told you that I loved you."

Axel clutched Mena to him and kissed the top of her head. Pulling back, he tilted her chin up so their gazes were level and poured his heart out through his eyes.

"Me," he said in an unwavering voice laced with longing and sincerity, "when they surrounded me, the only thing going through my head was, 'I never told Mena how much I love her.'" He smiled softly and brushed his knuckles along her jaw line. "And I do, baby. I love you."

* * *

"Meet me at Café Voilé on the corner of Fourth and Sinclair at midnight," he spoke sharply into the phone, his tone leaving no doubt of who was in control. 

"I can't be out at midnight, you know that!" she hissed angrily.

"Worried that he'll find out all you dirty little secrets?" he sneered, knowing he'd hit a nerve.

"I'll be there, but you'd better have the rest of my money. You've had long enough to come up with the final installment!"

"Oh, don't you worry, sweetheart, I fully plan on paying in full and closing this deal out. After tonight, I want nothing further to do with you, and good riddance."

* * *

Logan made his way down the alley and came to a stop beside an abandoned garage. Making a quick visual sweep of the area and concluding that he was alone, he walked behind the garage and pulled back the broken chain-link fence, squeezing through to the yard beyond. 

He approached the dark and silent house and knocked once on the back door, waited, and then rapped three times more.

A gravelly voice called out, "Who's there?" Logan could hear footsteps approaching from the other side.

"It's the Stockholder," he replied in code.

"Shares first. Slip 'em through the window by your feet. Wait here," came the muffled reply.

Logan noticed the open window to the basement and bent down to pass a carton into the void. He stood up again and waited somewhat impatiently, shifting from foot to foot. It was late and dark and being in one of the shadier parts of town, he wanted nothing more than to get back to the safety of his Bessie and be on his merry way.

The sound of locks disengaging startled him and he glanced sharply at the handle as it turned. A figure hidden in shadow nodded abruptly and said, "It's all there. Now get out of here and don't come back."

A small package was thrust into Logan's hands but before he even opened his mouth to thank his contact, the door slammed shut.

Taking a roundabout way back to his car, Logan slid in behind the wheel and opened the gummed flap of the envelope and smiled.

* * *

Alec was nearing the end of the list, having listened to almost two hours' worth of illicit recordings. He knew it was late, knew he had to get home, that Hailey would be wondering where he'd gotten to and waiting impatiently, but some extra sense told him that the next clip was important. 

"HvL01-Op3M.avs," he murmured the file name aloud. _Generated over a year ago, before Logan and Max got back together._

Hearing the pulsing, pounding music, staccato bursts of laughter compounded with heavy and erratic breathing, shouting and general bedlam left him with no doubt in his mind; he recognized the familiar sounds of Crash.

Filtering out the unnecessary background noise and focusing on the words being spoken, he listened intently as Logan began to speak.

_"I've been watching you," he said quietly._

_"And I should care because...?" came the muffled reply._

_"Because I know what you want," he paused, "and I can help you get it." _

_The silence was swallowed by the perpetual din._

_"I can help you," he repeated._

Alec stopped the clip and replayed it, struggling to make out who it was that Logan was propositioning. The voice was distinctly female but she must have been facing away from the mic, which would explain the distorted sound quality.

He tilted his head, eyes narrowed in concentration, and pressed play again.

_"I don't need any help, mister. I don't know what your game is, but I'm not interested, okay? Take a hike."_

She must have made a move to leave, there was a rustling and then a quick slap.

_"Get your filthy paws off me, you jerk!"_

Clearer. But not quite clear enough.

_"Look, I don't want anything like _that. _Just give me five minutes. If you're still not interested, I'll leave and won't bother you again."_

_"Fine," came the reluctant reply. Another pause. "Wait, I know you," she insisted. "You're were Max's boyfriend."_

_Logan_ _gave a soft snort of derision. "If you'll just hear me out, I might be able to fix _both _our problems."_

_"Both?" she asked in a tone full of interest and curiosity._

_"Yes, both. I've seen you watching him, following him. You want him," he stated confidently._

_"What are you talking about?" she bristled. "You know what? Forget it. I don't have time for this."_

More rustling could be heard and Alec had almost given up figuring out what the point of the conversation was and he went to stop the clip and close the file out. But Logan's next words made him stop cold.

_"I want Max back, but she's with _him_," he spat bitterly. "You help me get her back and I'll make sure you get-"_

He stiffened. This time there was no denying that he recognized that voice.

_"...Alec," the mystery female finished for him. Another pause. "I'm in. What do I have to do?"_

Alec fell back in his chair heavily, expelling a deep, ragged breath.

_Jesus!_

_No. Just...no._

* * *

Some time later, Mena shifted in his arms and he winced at the pressure being applied to his bruised limbs. Though he tried to hide it, she noticed and quickly disentangled herself from him and rising to her feet. 

"Oh, Ax, I'm sorry!" she exclaimed in regret and embarrassment. Axel grasped her wrist before she moved out of reach.

"It's fine, just a bit sore is all. Me, can you grab my jacket for me?" he asked, changing the subject quickly.

Without a word she retrieved the requested item and laid it gingerly across his stomach. Axel fumbled with the material, hands in search of something as her curious eyes followed his every movement. Axel chuckled at the bemused expression on her face. Extracting the small box from the inside pocket, he tossed the jacket carelessly aside. Looking up at his girlfriend he grinned sheepishly.

"I should be down on one knee doing this, but given the circumstances..." he trailed off, grinning wider as he saw realization dawning on Mena's face, her mouth forming a silent "O" as words failed her.

"Me, baby, will you marry me?"

BANG!

The door slammed open and Hailey stalked into the apartment, screaming infant in her arms and a murderous look in her eyes. She forced her way into the bedroom, ignoring the obviously tender moment she had intruded upon and practically barked at the occupants of the room.

"Where the hell is Alec?!"

Axel scowled darkly while Mena's eyes narrowed in anger at both the intrusion and the manner in which her boyfriend was being addressed.

But Axel kept his irritation in check and replied, albeit a bit coldly, "Am I my brother's keeper?"

Her patience was wearing frighteningly thin and Hailey glared at Axel. "You usually know where to find him. Fine, so you don't? Frankly, I don't care right now. I have to go out and Alec isn't home. I'm leaving Kaie with you." She turned on her heel and was about to exit the room when Mena found her voice.

"What the hell do you mean, you're leaving him with us?! We're not a babysitting service! Take him with you, or something, but he can't stay here! Axel's still recuperating and a crying baby isn't going to help him get any rest!"

"I can't take the kid and there's no one else. I don't have _time_ for this," she hissed. "I'm out of here."

Axel and Mena watched in shock as the irate transgenic mate of their closest friend left the squalling child on the living room floor and walked out the door.

Mena turned to Axel in disbelief and shook her head. "I don't _believe_ that girl! Of all the nerve...!"

"Yeah, well," Axel shrugged, "she knows I'd do anything for Alec..."

Mena scoffed. "Maybe so, but that doesn't give her the right to drop Kaie and run! And Alec's an idiot."

"Connect the dots for me, baby?"

"Just, I can't believe he mated with..._that_! I've never liked her, Ax, I doubt I ever will. She's an opportunist and, in my opinion, a complete bitch. I don't understand what he sees in her!"

"It's complicated, hon. Let's just say that Alec is honorable and leave it at that."

Mena's eyes widened in comprehension and she swallowed hard. "Gotcha," she replied slowly.

Axel smiled sadly, remembering times when Alec had seemed so unreservedly happy at the prospect of a future with Max, back when it had looked like she returned his feelings equally. Alec had changed following their falling out and the result was Hailey. He sighed and glanced at the metal band in his hand, suddenly remembering what had transpired before the unwelcome encounter with Hailey.

"Mena," he said quietly, watching with a tender smile as she hefted the small, squirming child onto her shoulder and soothed his cries, "You never answered my question."

In a few short steps she was by his side, pressing her lips to his firmly.

"Did you doubt my answer for a second?"

TBC

* * *

Author's note:

My sincerest thanks go out to my loyal readers and reviewers! I apologize for not contacting you all personally and hope you'll forgive my ill manners (even if my mother won't!) Your words and thoughts mean more than you realize!

Thanks to: meimei42, ze antelope, Amiwilson, X5 - 452 and 494, vballfanatic, purplebunnywabbit, SpiritKez, OriginalBubble, Eden , Angel Of Darkness231, MischievousAngel, ACE and Setsuna Bu ! You guys make it all worthwhile :o)


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter.

* * *

Alec was devastated. Hailey, his mate, the woman he took for his life partner, the mother of his child, was nothing more than a manipulative bitch. _This can't be right. She wouldn't do that, she's not like that! _He couldn't quite get his head around the things he'd heard, but the evidence was there, strong and solid and too terrible to accept.

_Gotta hand it to Logan, _he thought dispiritedly, not yet having processed everything he'd discovered and still in a stage of denial, _the guy's thorough._

It was obvious the older man had wanted a back-up plan, something to fall back on in case things went south. And his blackmail material was extensive, well documented and damning.

Alec scrolled back up the list and picked a random clip. He hit play.

_"So, do we have a deal?" __Logan__ asked._

_"A few conditions, first, but yes, we have a deal," Hailey agreed._

_"Conditions?" __Logan__ repeated with astonishment._

_"Yes. I'm doing you more of a favor than you're doing me," she said tightly. "I have to do all the work, after all. I think ten thousan__d d__ollars would even it out nicely."_

_"_Ten-thou-_!" __Logan__ exclaimed incredulously._

_"Too little? We can fix that, if-" she asked innocently._

_"No, no. It's fine. I just want it done. Ten grand it is." He paused a moment before inquiring, "But tell me, what is it about Alec that you females find so appealing?"_

_Hailey snorted. "In my world, _partner_, Alec's as good as it gets."_

_"And the money?" he asked after a minute of con__temp__lative silence._

_"Will help tie up some loose ends. That's all you need to know." Another pause. "So, we in agreement?"_

Alec replayed the message again, resting his head heavily in his hands as Hailey's voice echoed through the room.

_"In my world, _partner_, Alec's as good as it gets."_

She never said or implied any care for him - as a person - in the least. He was just an easy way up the ladder of the Transgenic social hierarchy. _I was a tool. A means for her to achieve recognition with the others._

He sank back in the chair and massaged his temples, trying to alleviate the pounding within his skull and the tension behind his eyes. _I was a tool. A tool. A fucking _tool!

Alec couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever come to mean anything to her the way she had come to mean something to him. He hadn't claimed to love her either, but he'd grown to care for her with time. He'd felt he owed it to her to try; they had a child together and he refused to let his son grow up feeling any dissension between his parents.

Hot tears prickled behind his eyelids and he held them back forcibly.

_"And the money?" ... "Will help tie up some loose ends."_

A business deal. His life with Hailey had been born of a business arrangement between herself and Logan. A cold, calculated move on her part with monetary compensation. His place in her life, her heart, was all a joke. _I was never there, was I? She never cared, not really. A business deal and a tool for advancement and nothing more. She played me like the fool I am. They both did._

-x-x-x-

Logan had time to kill before his midnight rendezvous. At first he drove aimlessly around the city, thinking about his grand plan and his future with Max.

Things had worked out beautifully. Hailey had managed to fix the test results without anyone's knowledge and set Max up for the inevitable. Inevitable, of course, because Max had somewhat of a hero complex mixed with an astounding guilt complex that made it easy to predict her behavior. She would never have allowed Alec to sacrifice his dreams for her, would have - and _d__id_ - go so far as to remove herself from the equation without explanation in order to keep him from giving up on what he wanted. _Good old Max._

And with her falling out with Alec came the eventual distancing of herself from Terminal City and it's inhabitants. She removed herself from almost all aspects of Transgenic life and was left virtually friendless, save for Original Cindy and that bonehead, Tetchy, or whatever his name was. It left her vulnerable to his manipulations.

Though Logan wouldn't call them manipulations, no sirree. More like...helped her fit into the real world. To be the woman she could be with him - gifted, agile, strong; another freedom fighter. Only this time, she relied on _him,_ and not the animals she'd been growing closer to.

Now the final stage of his plan was in motion. Max was practically alone in the world. Her ties to the Transgenics were mostly severed, her relationship with Cindy was strained due to distance and continued involvement with himself and her family was no longer in contact with her (thanks in part to his brilliance and a little pressure and guilting.)

The package he'd retrieved earlier was the last step. New identification papers, passports, plane tickets, all manner of documentation that would help them safely relocate to anywhere in the country. And he planned to move them - as far from Seattle as possible.

Logan pulled up in an empty lot near a secluded patch of beach, stretched out and settled down for a short nap.

-x-x-x-

Hailey's statements repeated over and over in his mind. The recordings were playing in the background and every so often he tuned in to hear the words. His heart constricted each time she spoke of him as nothing more than a means to a better end. He kept picturing money changing hands, could see her coming home to him with a - was that fake? - smile on her face. He ached to remember a time, _any_ time, when her words or actions may have been genuine. But Alec couldn't tell. Had she _ever_ been real with him?

He thought back to the night they met.

_"Hi there," a dark haired girl with sparkling grey eyes sidled up to him at the bar and perched on the stool beside him._

_Alec ignored her presence, hoping she would get the hint like dozens of others he'__d d__ismissed already. However, that wasn't the case this time._

_"So you're the infamous 494," she leaned towards him with a bright smile that faltered as he flinched at the use of his designation. "Erm, Alec, right?" she amended quickly. He nodded, features once again relaxed yet guarded, drawing deeply on his drink._

_"I'm 189; go by Hailey now," she extended her hand in greeting which he pointedly ignored._

_"Um, I was wondering if -" she started tentatively only to be cut off when he glanced to the side sharply and gave a semi-smile that didn't quite reach his eyes._

_"Look, Hailey, was it? You're pretty and all and you see nice so don't take this personally, but I'm just not interested." Alec turned back around and went back to his drink._

_Anyone who knew Alec recognized the closed-off, unapproachable look on his face and knew better than to press him, but Hailey had never been one to back down and she sure as hell wasn't planning to start now._

_"Yeah, about that, listen," she plowed on temerariously, "I didn't mean to give you the wrong impression. I just got out of a nasty relationship of my own; I'm not looking for a new man."_

_At this, Alec looked up and caught her eyes. "So what _are_ you lookin' for?" he asked edgily, warily._

_"I heard you were going through something similar. Thought we coul__d d__rown our sorrows together," she said emotionlessly, nodding her head at the half-empty bottle of alcohol on the bar between them. "Just two people having a drink."_

_He chuckled mirthlessly. "You don't give up, do you?" The annoyance wasn't lost on her but she just shrugged._

_"Wouldn't get all that far in life if I just gave up, now would I?" His answering smirk was encouraging. "Manticore didn't make us weak and I'm no chump. I know a good thing when I see it."_

_Alec frown again. "So I'm a good thing, am I?" he asked with a degree of uncertainty and a half-snort of disbelief. "_She_ doesn't think so," he muttered beneath his breath._

_"Well then, _she_," Hailey stresse__d d__isdainfully, "doesn't deserve you."_

_"And you do?" Hard eyes with an edge of sadness locked on hers again._

_"Never said that," she hastily denied, holding up her hands in mock surrender. "But you can't let her dictate your future, Alec. You deserve to be happy and if she can't be the one to do that for you, you have to find it somewhere else. Live for _yourself_."_

_Alec passed her the bottle in silent acceptance of her words and they proceeded to get drunk. The night passed in a blur, conversation forgotten and events hazing from exhaustion, mental anguish and moderate intoxication._

That seemed genuine enough. Neither party had proclaimed dying love or adoration. They'd simply used each other to mute the pain of rejection, right? _Or was it all part of the game?_ he wondered, bleakly, unsure of what real and what was not.

-x-x-x-

Hailey was glowering as she made her way out of Terminal City. It wasn't easy evading the patrols, but she didn't want anyone enquiring after her late night excursion outside the compound. If word got back to Alec, there would be questions. Questions she wasn't ready to answer, considering she hadn't had enough time to prepare.

_Damn you, Logan Cale!_ She scowled fiercely in the darkness, face pinched with anger. _He _knows_ I can't be running around at all hours! I've got that brat to take care of and people to answer to, damn it!_ But while she raged internally at the lateness of the hour, she couldn't fault his timing.

Hailey had good reason for insisting on a cash payoff from the wealthy hacker. Aside from the man's flush financial state, making him an easy target - desperate people will do crazy things, after all - she had a payoff of her own to make and needed the money very soon.

She thought back to her last meeting with the angry young man to whom she was in debt.

_"Where's my money, 189?" he growled impatiently._

_"I'll have the rest of it by the end of the month, Jay, I swear!" she pleaded for an extension._

_"Listen, sweetheart, you agreed. Now you're fucking delaying and it's pissing me off."_

_"Jay, I swear! Gimme three weeks and I'll have it for you in full."_

_"You better, 189, or that brat of yours is dead. I should never have let you keep it in the first place. Shoulda killed the bastard when I first found out."_

_"It's a _he_ and his name is Kaie," she retorte__d d__efiantly. "And if you ever lay a hand on him I'll kill you myself."_

_Jay laughed. "With what, a diaper? Toots, you couldn't beat me if I were blind and had a peg leg, and you know it. I've always been better than you, stronger. It's how we got into this mess in the first place. And I don't care about the kid. He's not mine."_

_His eyes dared her to challenge him._

_"Unless that money doesn't make it to me in three weeks' time. After that, all bets are off, baby. And that kid'll find out what it's like to be on the wrong end of my fists."_

Hailey had never loved her son, never wanted kids to be honest, but when she'd discovered she was pregnant she couldn't find it within herself to terminate the pregnancy. She'd made the mistake of telling Jay and he'd used that information to blackmail her with. He'd demanded ten thousand in cash, small denominations, no less, and as soon as the child was born. She'd barely managed to hold him off until now.

She quickly slipped through the fence at the far end of Terminal City and made her way stealthily towards Seattle's city center.

-x-x-x-

Alec continued down memory lane, every step into the past more painful that the one before it.

_They coupled more times than he could count and he was amazed at his stamina, given the amount of alcohol they'd consumed. But it was a way to try and numb the pain; he lost himself in Hailey and she in him, until they'd collapsed boneless an__d d__rained, and passed out tangled together in the damp, sticky sheets._

_The morning after, Alec awoke to find himself in Hailey's apartment, naked, smelly an__d d__isgusted with his actions. He rose quickly, dressed and vowed to forget the night had ever happened._

_Which he did. Until she approached him weeks later with a statement that had him reeling:_

"I'm pregnant."

His entire relationship with the girl was in question and he hated the suspicion that was churning in his gut, the tingle of dread; that heavy, tight, hot and cold feeling he got whenever he questioned her motives and thought hard on other situations they'd been in, in the past.

_They were hanging out at Crash with a group of friends from TC. Mena, Axel, CeCe and Quinn were talking animatedly about one of the more exciting missions they'd been on back in their Manticore days, exchanging anecdotes and the like. Hailey was scowling darkly at them while Alec was absorbed in the storytelling. She reached out and softly touched his arm. When he looked at her, he caught the fleeting glare but it disappeared and was replaced so quickly with a sweet smile, that he thought he'd imagined it. _

_"Baby, let's get out of here. I'd rather spend some quality time with _you_," she'd purred seductively._

Now he knew. He hadn't imagined it; she'd really been glaring at his friends. _How many other things, situations and conversations did I ignore or pretend never happened? What else did I turn a blind eye to just to keep my fantasy intact?_

Alec had wanted so badly to be loved, to know he was cherished the way he'd cherished Max. He had tried to find that with Hailey, used her to fill the whole in his heart that Max had left when she ripped him wide open with angry, hateful words that night long ago. He'd been so desperate to fill the void that he'd taken his mate's words and actions at face value.

_Sucker. _

Hindsight is twenty-twenty, they say, and Alec was seeing clearly, way too long after the fact. Well, to be fair, he hadn't exactly been over the moon when he'd asked Hailey to get serious with him; he'd done it for Kaie. But Alec still recalled a conversation with Axel long ago. And he wished more than anything that he hadn't been so noble and had followed Axel's advice.

_Axel looked speculatively at Alec before shaking his head. "That girl's bad news, Al. End it before someone gets hurt." The unspoken _'You'_ came though loud and clear._

_"Just lay off, Axel," Alec proteste__d d__efensively. "She's not that bad; you just don't know her."_

_"Al, you're my best friend, man, and I don't wanna hurt you, but understand this," he took a deep breath, "I don't think I want to know her. She's nasty to everyone but you."_

_"Max was a bitch to everyone, too," Alec insisted fractiously._

_"Max was bitch-_y_," Axel said pointedly, "But she was never outright nasty and hateful. Hailey isn't right for you, man. You're just too blind to see it! What freakin' spell did she cast on you, huh? Cuz I don't recognize you anymore, bro, and I don't like it."_

_"That's _enough_!" Alec hissed angrily. "You don't get it, Ax. It's - she- our," he faltered, swallowed hard and his gaze turned stony, "It's complicated."_

_"Alec, the only thing complicated enough to tie you down would be-" Axel's eyes widened in comprehension. "Aw, hell! Fuck all, Alec!"_

_Alec nodded miserably and returned to cleaning and sorting the ammo. _

_"Just keep this between us, okay, man? I don't want _anyone_ to know."_

_Axel stared sympathetically at his friend. Of course he wouldn't want anyone to know. He'd been trapped brilliantly, whether deliberately or not, and Alec hated not being in control. He considered it a weakness._

_"'Course I got your back, bro. I always do."_

Alec felt overwhelmed by the enormity of his discovery. His mate's betrayal, Logan's manipulations, his own stupidity and - if he admit honestly - denial of facts and signs over the past year, were hard and bitter pills to swallow. Owning up to one's own mistakes is never easy, and to find he'd been played so perfectly burned like acid.

_I've gone soft, _he thought in disgust. _I let love, or the prospect of love, screw me up royally. I never learn,_ he reflected bitterly. _You'd think the mess with Rachel would have taught me something._

He shakily rose to his feet and crossed the room to Logan's liquor cabinet. Yanking it open, he reached for a couple bottles of Logan's finest, pre-Pulse scotch, ripping the lid off one and swallowing a large part it's contents in one swig.

_Drunk. Must get drunk._

His mind was working overtime, thoughts, feelings and emotions swirling angrily within. Alec felt overloaded and lost, and so very alone.

He sank to the floor and leaned against the couch as he poured the remaining fiery liquid down his throat like water.

TBC

* * *

Author's note: My sincerest thanks go out to my loyal readers and reviewers! I will do my best to reply to you each personally for your previous and any future reviews! 

Thanks to: Aleja21, audreypod94, Pearly-wings, SpiritKez, Heavens Demise, purplebunnywabbit, meimei42, ze antelope and calistra

You guys really _do_ make it all worthwhile :o)


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven  
****Thanks to CandyCentric for everything! She's the reason this chapter was finally written!!**

* * *

_And baby don't it feel like I'm all alone  
Who's gonna be there after the last angel has flown  
And I've lost my way back home  
_'Nobody Knows', Pink

* * *

It was late when Max entered Terminal City and the streets were almost empty. She was rather relieved not have to deal with the curious or possibly hostile stares of her fellow Transgenics, people she'd had next to nothing to do with in over a year. 

Max felt a wave of loneliness wash over her. The Transgenics were her family and she'd all but cut them off, and for what? For a man and a relationship that were completely wrong for her. Admittedly, it began with a desire to distance herself from Alec, and as Terminal City was his home it made sense for her to stay away. However, the longer she thought about it the clearer it became; Logan had kept her occupied with various missions and they'd spent many nights alone and holed away from the world. Her relationship with Cindy and Sketchy had even been affected by the amount of time she spent with Logan. He'd never understood her friends or really gotten along with them.

_He never wanted to, _she thought sadly. _If I didn't know better I'd say he was trying to- _Max shook her head and dismissed the distressing thought. Logan was a bit possessive, but he wouldn't deliberately sabotage her friendships. He may have been jealous of her feelings for Alec, but it wasn't as if she'd had much to do with him since that fateful night.

Max saw that Headquarters was alive with activity when she pushed her way through the doors. _I've missed this place._ She sighed as she followed her nose to the thick, pungent cigar smoke rising from a far corner of the room.

"Hey, Mole," she said sombrely from behind his perch. Max wasn't sure of the reception she'd receive but relaxed when Mole removed the cigar from his mouth and smirked at her.

"Well, hello there, Princess. The human finally let you off your leash? Been a while."

She scowled at the implication but nodded. "Haven't been around much."

Mole snorted. "That's an understatement. Good to have you back." He looked at her shrewdly. "You _are_ back, aren't you?"

Max glanced around the circle and noted the acceptance and even a few hopeful expressions. She was slightly taken aback but allowed a genuine smile to grace her face.

"I'm thinking about it."

"You do that," he replied nodding. "You want in?" he inquired, gesturing to the game of poker in progress.

"Maybe some other time. I'm looking for Axel, actually."

"Alec's buil-," he stopped himself short. "226 Bell Street, 3A."

"Thanks, Mole. See you around."

When Max was almost out of earshot she heard Mole make a somewhat incredulous confession to his companions.

"I've missed the bitch," he claimed affectionately. "Take her over Alec's shrew any day."

Max grinned as she exited HQ. It was good to be home.

-x-x-x-

Max stood hesitantly outside the door to Axel's apartment. She'd tried to convince herself that she wasn't at fault, that she couldn't honestly blame herself for not being able to help Axel, but that didn't lessen the guilt she felt for being unable to help her friend or repay one of the many debts she owed to Alec.

She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, raised her fist and knocked lightly.

The door swung open and Max found herself face to face with a rather disheveled Mena.

"Max!" Mena exclaimed, smiling widely. "What a pleasant surprise! Come in, come in." The other woman ushered her into the apartment and closed the door.

"Are you here to see Axel? Why don't you go in? I'll grab some drinks and be right with you," she said tiredly, pointed in the direction of the bedroom and excused herself.

Max knocked on the doorframe and poked her head inside.

"Hey, Ax, up for some company?"

"Max! Come on in and take a seat," he waved he to the chair beside the bed. "Haven't seen you in a long time. Too long, if you ask me. How've you been?"

Max gave a half-hearted smile and sighed. "I've been. And you're looking better than the last time I saw you."

"Mena and... they told me you came to visit while I was flat. I'm sorry I couldn't entertain."

She smacked him lightly on the arm and playfully stuck out her tongue. "I liked you better when you couldn't talk." The two shared a smile. "So," she began again after a few moments of silence, "What's the prognosis?"

"He'll live," Mena answered coming up from behind with a tray of sandwiches and drinks. "It was a pretty close shave, though."

Max sighed. "I'm really sorry, Axel. I would have been there if I could. I should have been there."

Axel smile reassuringly. "I know you would have, Max, don't worry about it. I understand why you couldn't. Alec was a bit of a mess, though, from what I heard. I wish I could have saved him that."

"After Biggs it's not surprising. I can't imagine what must have been going through his mind," chimed in Mena. "_I_ was going spare. I mean, I'm your," and here she blushed prettily, "fiancé, but Alec's been your friend longer. It must have damn near killed him."

"Congratulations! Finally popped the question, huh? I can't believe it," Max grinned at the couple, but focused on Axel, "You volunteered for the ball and chain!"

Axel protested. "Hey, you make it sound like a bad thing!" Mena giggled but the light hearted moment was interrupted by a high-pitched wail.

The sudden, ear-piercing cry came from the other room and the couple groan simultaneously in frustration. Max turned questioningly to Mena.

"You don't want to know," she muttered. "Hailey came in earlier like a bat out of hell and left Kaie here. She just left him! Like I don't have my hands full with Axel," she added darkly.

Max swallowed the familiar hurt she felt at the mention of Hailey's name and forced a smile. "She and Alec go out and make you guys baby-sit?"

Mena snorted. "Not quite. Apparently Alec wasn't around and Hailey 'had to go'. Can you believe that when we told her Axel was healing and needed rest and that we couldn't take care of him she said, and I quote, 'I don't have time for this,' dumped Kaie and left?"

Max was surprised at that. "Where on earth could she be going this late, and alone?"

"Beats me," Axel replied tiredly, "But I'd give anything for some peace and quiet."

The baby cried again and Mena rose from the bed but was stopped by Max.

"Let me."

The two Transgenics watched from the bed as Max walked into the living room and tenderly lifted the squalling and red-faced child from the makeshift crib. She cooed at the boy and laid his head on her shoulder, rubbing circles on his tiny back.

As Max turned, swaying gently as she whispered to Kaie, Mena's breath caught in her chest. The look on Max's face was soft and relaxed, her lips were curved in a sweet smile and her eyes shone with pain and glowed brightly with unshed tears.

Mena laid her head on Axel's shoulder and his good arm went around her and pulled her close.

"He should have been hers, Ax. Look at them."

"I know," was his sad reply.

The soft light glinted off the tumbler in his hands, making the amber liquid glow like fire. Alec's eyes traced the shadow on the wall opposite. He angrily wiped at a stray tear and clenched his jaw. He knew he was being maudlin, but given the information he was currently processing, he couldn't help himself. Everything inside of him cried out to deny the truth once more, to preserve the fantasy that had been his life, but the tangled web of lies was unravelling and the threads would no longer hold.

_Lies, all of it. All lies!_ he raged, hurling the glass at the wall, watching it shatter. The wet blotch that spread across the wall was like a painful reflection of his current state. His once happy life now carried a stain and the realisation of his naiveté was slowly spreading numbness throughout his body. _So stupid!_

Alec couldn't stop thinking about Hailey. All the times he'd caught his friends badmouthing his mate, he'd thought they were either jealous or spiteful. That because he was no longer 'on the market' his friends resented his relationship and his newfound responsibilities and loyalties to his mate and child.

_"She's a right nasty little hussy," one of the X5s commented to a few of his friends one afternoon in Mess Hall. "And she's got Alec tightly leashed."_

_"I know what you mean. He never goes anywhere without her and none of us like her. If not for the fact that we almost never see him anymore, I'd stop asking him along. Hailey's got a mean streak that makes White look like a kindergartner."_

_"Malign my mate's character one more time and _I_ will make White look like a kindergartener, got it?"_

"I defended you, you _bitch!_" he roared in the otherwise silent, cold room. "Why? Why, damn it?" I gave you everything..."

But he hadn't, had he? Alec had never given Hailey his heart. He may have grown to care for the girl, but she just wasn't Max.

Max. The one girl who'd left him breathless and vulnerable. The girl he'd taken beatings and verbal lashings from, just to stay near her. The girl he'd thought that he'd finally won before she shot him down horribly.

For Logan.

_Logan, the manipulative little bastard. The one she wanted a family with. _

Alec thought back to that night on the Space Needle, reliving the pain of her rejection. He'd been so sure that she felt the same way he did. They'd grown closer and Max had been affectionate with him, shown her softer side and let him in. What had changed so suddenly that she turned so cold? Alec loved her and wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of his life with her. _He_ wanted to be the one to father her children. Alec couldn't understand why Max had walked away from him after all they'd shared. The thoughts, the memories, the dreams...

_"Alec, if there was one thing in the world that you could have, what would it be?"_

He remembered how soft her skin was under his fingertips, the way the moon lit upon her hair, how her eyes sparkled, the sincerity and hint of yearning in her voice. His answer had more meaning than she'd known.

_"A family. Manticore deprived us of so many things, Maxie. One day, I want a family. I want to have kids, a home. I want to be happy; we deserve to be happy."_

He'd tried to show her how he felt, looking deeply into her dark eyes.

"_You're all I wanted, Max,"_ he whispered in anguish, reaching for the almost empty bottle of scotch beside him and taking an angry, deep swig and choking it down.

_You and our..._

Realization hit like a ton of bricks and he gasped, knocking the bottle to the floor. He didn't notice the cold or wet that spilled down his shirt. Alec's gut churned and he felt ill.

All this time he'd been sickened to think that Max had wanted to have kids with Logan and that she wasn't able. But all this time..._All this time!_

_"Oh, Maxie!"_

This time Alec didn't wipe the tears as they fell.

- TBC -


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N1: **A quick note of thanks to anyone whose review I may have forgotten to reply to earlier: SpiritKez, Whirlwind-2005, Rhiza, smartieepants, lil17, Erkith, acb, BLISSFULLY-JADED73, chance32, Eden, X5 - 452 and 494, Aleja21 and calistra. Thank you all for reading and for your comments!

**Chapter Eight**

**A/N2:** Endless hugs to my wonderful hubby, **Eli**, for some rocking suggestions that I've employed in this chapter, and to **CandyCentric** for critique and encouragement. Thank you!

* * *

Max spent a bit more time with Axel and Mena, catching up on the dealings in Terminal City, hearing about Axel's experience first-hand and the slow recovery that followed, and enjoying some general gossip and friendly banter; things she had sorely missed. 

After a while, Mena, who had noticed the dark circles under Max's eyes, gently inquired after Max's wellbeing, knowing that the girl had been a mess for weeks.

"How are you doing, Max? We've all been really worried about you."

Max shrugged. "I had some bad news is all." She fell silent for a few moments, a faraway look creeping into eyes. Finally she sighed, and directing her question to Axel, though keeping her focus on the soft, downy head of the child in her arms, she softly asked, "Is he happy?"

Axel looked surprised at the question for moment before he realized who she was talking about. He snorted derisively. "What do you think, Max? You _destroyed_ him."

Max's shoulders slumped and she looked everywhere but at Axel, but ended up catching his eyes anyway. Seeing the mixed feelings there, she quietly defended herself.

"I had to. I-"

"You _had_ to?" he asked harshly. "You_ knew _howhe felt about you, Max! Alec loved you and you threw it back in his face!"

Axel, seeing her obvious pain and distress, softened. "Why, Max? Why would you _think_ such a thing?"

Max kept her face as blank as possible, but her lip began to quiver and Axel gently took Kaie from her, allowing Mena to reach over and draw the other girl into a comforting hug in hopes of getting her to open up and explain where everything had gone wrong.

"I found out - the tests - I thought I...," she began. "The results were bad."

Axel gave her a hard look, his disbelief obvious in his voice. "What tests? What results? Were you testing the virus, Max?"

She nodded wordlessly.

"God, Max! You used him?! While you were waiting for a cure, you used Alec, is that it?" he spat at her in disgust. "You really _are_ a bitch!"

Max's face crumpled and she shook her head vigorously in denial. She cast a pleading look at her friend. "The _tests_, Mena. The tests came back all wrong. And I had to end it before it was too late."

Axel narrowed his eyes at Max before turning his accusing glare to Mena. "_You_ knew about this? And you _kept_ it from me?!"

Mena shook her head sadly. "Axel, no. What Max is trying to tell us is that the tests they did on the virus? They weren't looking for a cure, baby. They were looking for anomalies, genetic deficiencies, any problems that might have resulted because of the virus. Logan's doctor friend, Carr, told Max that there might be a mutation."

Axel looked properly chastised but was still confused. "I'm not following. So what was the problem?" he asked quietly, directing his question to Max, even knowing that Mena would answer for her.

"I overheard Max talking to Kat in the infirmary," Mena explained, looking to Max for permission to continue. The other girl gave a slight nod, gazing at the child now nestled against Axel's chest with such a look of longing that he felt his heart ache.

"Kat suggested that she make sure the virus wouldn't affect Max's ability to conceive, or be passed on to any children she might have one day." Mena squeezed Max's shoulder in silent support. Axel pieced the information together and sighed.

"Max, god I'm sorry! I didn't know. I should never-,"

She raised her head slowly, reddened eyes filled with defeat and sadness and shook her head. "Don't, Axel. Just don't. I never told anyone."

"Max, just tell me one thing. Do you love him?"

There was a slight hitch in her breathing at the question. Max clenched her jaw and swallowed tightly, staring blankly at a spot over Axel's shoulder. He watched as a lone tear made it way down the girl's cheek.

Her reply was so quiet he almost thought he'd imagined it.

_"Yes."_

-x-x-x-

_When did I turn into such a pussy?_ he scoffed to himself, wiping angrily at his wet cheeks. Alec leaned his head back and stared up a the ceiling, trying to make sense of the sudden chaos that was his life.

"This is what I get for playing good Samaritan. Stabbed in the back and straight through the fucking heart," he muttered darkly, running a shaky hand through his already disheveled hair.

It cut deep and twisted inside, making his very soul bleed. The pain brought new awareness, and with it, righteous anger. Conflicting feelings churned in his mind and heart and waged war on his emotions. Alec struggled to choose one feeling over another but found it impossible to do so.

_If she_ did_ have feelings for me like I thought, the news must have crushed her,_ the voice of compassion and sympathy argued strongly on her behalf, but the indignant and, to be honest, most compelling voice reminded him of her penchant to avoid dealing with her problems. _Typical Max to do a runner when things get tough._ At least both voices agreed on something; _She should have told me!_

Alec stuffed his fist in his mouth to keep from screaming. He had no intention to give the neighbors cause to investigate his presence in the apartment sans host. Oh no, he meant to wait it out. The little chat he'd planned to have with Logan, to convince the older man to open his eyes and not screw up the one good thing he had going for him...well. The visit was definitely an eye-opener and he certainly planned to - he laughed mirthlessly - chat, with the bastard.

The fact that Logan had planned everything, set things up over the course of a year - no, more - didn't even strike Alec as strange. Logan had always been the type to carry through to the end once he'd set his sights on something. It's what made him a good journalist, he supposed._ And jealousy and rejection do nasty things to a person,_ he conceded.Alec knew that first-hand.

He couldn't understand it; how had he not seen the signs? He knew Max so well, could read her like no other, understood what drove and motivated her, could sense when she was hurting or something was on her mind. He fucking _knew _her, and yet he hadn't thought to question the change in her demeanor that fateful night, nor had he gone after her demanding answers, annoying her into telling him what was going on like he normally would have.

Alec snorted in disgust. _No,_ he thought regretfully, self-loathing coloring his already dark thoughts, _I was hurt, and I wanted her to hurt, too. I wanted her to see what it was like to be cast aside._

Alec swallowed hard, fighting down the acidic bile that threatened and swelled within as bitter realization clawing at the surface of his memories.

_I'm as guilty as she is. _He blinked back hot, angry tears. _No, guiltier,_ he conceded.

Max had seemed too happy, so content to be with him, he reflected sadly. It was only after he'd told her his dreams of a family of his own - and he could have _sworn _that she was on board with that same dream - when the phone rang. Her entire body went rigid and she turned to ice in a matter of moments, and finally, when he'd asked her to admit her feelings, pled with her to end the pointless avoidance and give in to their mutual feelings and considerable passion, she'd pushed him away.

Max had pushed him away...

_So I'd have what I always wanted. She did it to save me._

He let out a strangled sob infused with hysterical laughter.

_And I did it to hurt her..._

He buried his face in his hands.

_And I ruined us both._

-x-x-x-

Max took leave of Axel and Mena and began her trek back to Headquarters. If she didn't get through to Logan, perhaps she _would _take Mole up on his offer. She'd missed the sharp-tongued, quick-witted lizard, after all. Hesitantly, she flipped open her phone and dialed the familiar number with a heavy heart.

_"Logan? We should talk."_

_"Look, Max, I'm kind of busy. Can you call me later?"_

_"Later? Where are you? It's almost midnight!"_

_"I'm sorry, Max, I'm meeting a contact. I should be back in about an hour. Why don't you meet me at home. You're right, we _should_ talk. I miss you."_

_"Yeah. Um, I'll see you then."_

-x-x-x-

He'd just pocketed his phone when she entered the dark alley.

"Your little girl getting impatient, Cale? That makes two of us. Hand it over and we can both get on with our lives."

Hailey reached for the envelope but Logan snatched it from her grasp.

"No, tell me one more time. You're _positive_ no one will find out that the copies you left were faked? You covered your tracks and there's absolutely _no_ way it can be traced to me."

"Listen, Cale," she huffed. "I've been doing this kind of thing since I was in diapers. I was _born_ to do this shit. _Just chill_, okay? No one's the wiser and you're in the clear. Now give me my fucking money so I can go home and play happy families."

"For someone who made an easy ten thousand, you're sounding pretty uptight. Problems in paradise?" he sneered at her.

"My business is no longer your concern. You got what you wanted, now give me what you owe me or I'll be sure to demonstrate what an agitated X5 female is truly capable of."

"You forget that I've seen Max in action. The novelty wore off long ago."

Hailey glared at Logan and snorted angrily. "Oh right, how could I forget? Perfect Max fucking Guevara. The queen-fucking-bee who can do no wrong!"

His curiosity got the better of him. "You really hate her, don't you?"

"Would you like it if she screamed _his_ name ever fucking time you-," she clamped her mouth shut, grabbed the enveloped and turned on her heel in a huff. "Our business is concluded, Cale. Don't contact me again. Ever."

Logan scowled, face dark with unconcealed anger, hatred for the wretched X5-494 evident in his every feature. He clenched his jaw before allowing a slow, indulgent smile to cross his lips.

_No matter,_ he thought smugly._ This time next week, we'll be far from reach and Seattle , her friends and her cocky, blond, would-be lover will be nothing but memories._

-x-x-x-

Alec always prided himself on his ability to keep his composure and a level head under pressure. Even so, he hadn't often found himself in deeply emotional situations, and on the few occasions in which he did cave to the strain, he'd been forcibly reminded of the consequences of such weakness.

Years of such 'lessons' had taught him early on to keep mind over heart, to think rationally and thoroughly before taking action and show no outward appearance of distress. Those well and oft-enforced tactics and doctrines had kept him alive and one step ahead in the game. This time would be no different.

Sure, he was seething, still reeling from the deceptions of his mate, but acting rashly would do no good in the long run. He had to remove himself from the picture and view things with tried and true, clinical detachment.

_Quit thinking of yourself as a pawn in terms of that one next step,_ he chided himself. _Step back and take in the entire board._

They'd played him, played him and Max both. He knew he couldn't change how the game started, but he could make a play to see it end _his _way. Logan's lies would eventually be revealed to Max, whether by Alec's revelations or Logan's own admission; he didn't rightly care. She would leave him, and one day, hopefully, would fine happiness again. Obviously not before one or both of them did Logan some damage, but Max would get past it and move on. He hoped.

He wanted to blame Logan for everything, because ultimately, he had set the plan in motion. But the fact remained that Hailey had played a key part. She was the one who broke into the hospital labs, she had swapped the crucial files, she took a very active role in pursuing Alec and securing his attentions. The more he considered her part in things, the less he wanted to kill Logan. Oh, he still meant to crush him like a bug, ruin his reputation, expose him...something painful and longer reaching than physical torture, and far less merciful than a bullet through the heart. However, Hailey's lies were far worse than Logan's, and Alec didn't really care to waste his energy on a man he'd never really respected in the first place.

No. Logan's motives, selfish as they were, could be understood. Alec knew what it was like to lose the woman he loved. He could see being blinded by jealousy and driven by desire, want and need, being strong motivators, could possibly even accept that the other man had been blinded to reason and decency in his pursuit of the woman of his dreams.

Hailey was a different story, and _none_ of her actions could ever be justified in Alec's eyes. Social status, money...he couldn't help but wonder now if _everything_ was a set-up. He admitted to considering that she might have trapped him, but Hailey had seemed genuinely upset to learn they were going to have a baby. Alec knew, deep down inside - especially now that her true colors had been revealed - he accepted that she had never wanted the baby, but something had kept her from aborting, and for that he was forever grateful. For all that his relationship with the mother of his child was false and fabricated for her own selfish goals, Kaie was the light of Alec's life and he would never regret fathering the child.

He allowed himself a brief moment of regret, wishing not for the first time that Max were the mother of his son. He knew with certainty that she completed him, and without her he would never be whole.

"Focus, Alec," he warned himself, muttering obscenities under his breath. Thoughts of that nature led to nothing but further heartache. "Think, don't feel."

Alec would deal with Hailey in his own time. Kaie would, of course, stay with him. He had rights over the child as an Alpha male, and he knew that even those who didn't prescribe to that line of thought would side with him after they learned the truth. Alec snorted at the irony; Hailey really shouldn't have chosen the Transgenic leader to screw with. Karma certainly had a way. He might be bound to her by their child, but he'd be damned if he kept the manipulative, lying little bitch in his bed and as an influence in his son's life.

Hailey had wanted to climb the social ladder, and she had, using Alec to get where she wanted to be. Alec knew he shouldn't have been surprised at the play for power and utter disregard she had for him to use him so callously. He'd been raised in Manticore, after all, the epitome of all things self-serving and cold. They'd learned young that while you never leave your unit behind, you also never sacrifice yourself for another. If it served the whole you weighed it up and made the best of the options available. And of course, either way you chose, you could easily end up punished. A lose-lose situation whatever you did. It was one of many reasons he envied Max; her closeness to her unit, their willingness to die for each other regardless of the consequences. Alec had never had that measure of security and safety from fellow squad mates, with the exception of Biggs and Axel. It was only on the outside, in Terminal City, that they had truly banded together. And Alec kicked himself for lowering his guard and believing in goodwill and human kindness.

His mate had used him for personal gain, plain and simple. And the walls Max had slowly chiseled away at, were quickly refortified. He doubted he would ever trust so fully or easily again. And like he'd been trained, he sat and planned. Retaliation, punishment, would be carefully prepared and swiftly executed.

_The higher you climb, the harder you fall, _he mused, a malicious sneer curling his lip, _and this one's gonna hurt, baby. Bet your ass it will._

-x-x-x-

Max felt uncomfortable going up to the apartment, knowing that she was going to break things off with Logan for good, so she sat on the curb outside the building in wait. She wondered how to best broach the subject, how to approach in a way that would hurt the least; because she knew that no matter what, it would hurt. Logan had been good to her, taking her back after the fight with Alec, accepting and soothing her, helping her mend her broken heart. And he'd forgiven her and still loved her despite all. Max felt that she would always owe him for his unselfish friendship and loyalty, and even if she didn't return his feelings, she would always cherish his lover for her.

The low hum of a motor approached from the South and Max turned her gaze expectantly toward the sound. Sure enough, Bessie barrelled along steadily like the faithful pile of junk she was. Max smiled fondly as she took in every dent and scratch, each bullet gouge and graze in the weathered metal, remembering the scrapes and near misses she'd had, to be saved by Logan and his Bessie.

She still giggled at the thought of the name. She'd asked him once, _Why Bessie?_ Logan's matter of fact reply that the car was as reliable and cantankerous as his Great Aunt Bessie had been when she lived, had kept her laughter in check and brough a new respect for the old clunker.

Max rose to her feet when the car came to a halt and offered a half-smile of welcome to the man that emerged grinning from the driver's seat.

"Max," he greeted, "you came."

"Not like I was going to miss out on that famous blueberry pie," she bantered lightly, her tone belying her inner turmoil.

"Let's get you home, then," he indulged her, wrapping an arm possessively around her waist and tugging her close to his side, Logan buried his nose in her hair and inhaled. "I've really missed you, Max."

She smiled half-heartedly and they made their way to the elevator. The ride up to the apartment was silent. For Logan, it was a comfortable silence, an accepting quiet, but for Max, each moment piled dread and guilt in her gut, and while she longed to pull out of his embrace, she instead chose to allow Logan his last moments of closeness to her person. Within the hour she was certain there would be anger, hurtful words and likely tears on her part. She wasn't looking forward to the discussion in the least.

The doors opened into his foyer and with a hand at the small of her back, he guided her towards the living room-cum-computer room. Fumbling for the light switch and encountering a wet patch, he quickly flipped it on. Logan let loose a tiny gasp at the sight that greeted his eyes.

Max started in surprised. "Alec?"

Alec didn't even acknowledge Max. His eyes never left Logan's, a light smile on his face that Max noticed didn't quite reach his usually expressive, hazel eyes.

Logan found his voice. "Alec, what the hell are you doing in my house?"

Alec smirked - in a way. "Well, I was at home and I was in the mood for some tunes, but see, I ain't got a stereo, Terminal City's a bitch like that, ya know? So I thought, who do I know that's got one?" He cocked his head and smiled. "My good ol' buddy, Logan."

Logan's eyebrows rose in disbelief. "So you just decided, what? You'd drop by and make yourself at home?" Logan glanced at the telltale stains on his normally immaculate walls, eyeing shards of glass lightly blanketing the wet carpet. The room smelled faintly of scotch.

Both Max and Logan noticed the strange glint in his eyes, though neither knew quite what to make of it. His voice sounded strangely light and empty compared to the odd darkness in his smile.

"Max always did say you had great taste." He chuckled and continued to speak directly to Logan. "Never thought you'd have such an..._extensive_...audio collection." Alec's fingers idly caressed the keyboard beneath his hand.

Max, now thoroughly exasperated and at the end of her tether after a long, tiring day and night, and not quite seeing Alec's reason for crashing her little break-up party, snapped suddenly.

"Alec, quit fooling around and get to the point..._so you can leave_. You're not needed here now."

Logan began to voice agreement to this statement, but was interrupted by Alec's mocking reply.

"Au contraire, Maxie. Personally, I think you'd could use a little education in the _audial arts_. Take a listen to this, hey?"

His hand stilled mid-air for a moment, long enough to see the shiver of foreboding pass over Logan and he smiled, then; a full-fledged, mocking smile which grew progressively malicious with the descent of his finger to the keypad.

Max moved to speak, but he shocked her into silence by grabbing her wrist and pulling her into his lap. He pressed his lips to the shell of her ear and whispered just loudly enough for Logan to hear and truly fear his rival.

"You _really_ want to hear this, Max. It's...so enlightening, it's...almost...unbelievable."

The room was so thick with silence Logan could almost _hear_ the fear as it snaked up his spine and coiled around his throat.

_"Half up-front. Count it if you like."  
(shuffling sounds) "Right. So all you want me to do is switch the records?"  
"Yes. A simple B&E, something you should find easy enough."  
(laughter) "This is the easiest money I've ever made."  
(a pause) "Is he really worth it?"  
(angry, low-hissed mutterings, and then a light laugh)  
"__Alec? He's my ticket to ride."  
__"Call me when you're done and we'll finalize the deal. Be careful."  
"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry. No one will ever know that an Ordinary got one up on the great Max Guevara. We'll be in touch."_

Alec felt Max tense beneath his hands and he knew that if he didn't calm her even minutely, she would bolt, ruining his fun. Sure, he'd be happy to deal with Logan alone, but he wanted answers, and that meant going through with his plan, _as he'd planned it._ He began tapping out his suggestion in Morse against her back.

The glint in Alec's eyes made sense now. She couldn't breathe. But the rational part of her brain agreed with Alec's plan. She squirmed at first, but met his eyes and nodded almost imperceptibly. She 'fought' him and jumped off his lap whirling in shock to face Logan, eyes darting between the two men as her horror grew.

"So whaddaya think, Maxie? Does Logie have a great selection, or what?"

Logan's only comfort was the slam of his door before the ice settled in his veins when he realized...

_I'm alone with Alec._

- TBC -

**My stories are also available at ****Raising Hell**  
a Dark Angel fan fiction archive open to all ages, and hosting stories with all ratings, pairings and genres. The link is in my profile if you're interested :D Thank you for reading!


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Thanks to feekh for superb suggestions and beta assistance. You rock, babe! Love you!**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Nine**

_

* * *

_

_I could either burn  
Or cut off my pride and buy some time  
A head full of lies is the weight, tied to my waist  
The River of Deceit pulls down  
The only direction we flow is down  
_  
Mad Season - River of Deceit

* * *

Max was trembling after 'exiting' Logan's apartment. She'd just had a bomb dropped on her and barely any time to process things. She'd just heard Logan - and if she wasn't mistaken, Hailey - planning...something. Recognizing that fact alone made her angry and everything inside of her screamed to find out why he'd done it and what the extent of his deception really was. 

But when she had felt Alec's almost desperate plea to give him a chance to do things his way, tapped out frantically against her skin in code, she had held back and agreed. It went against her instincts to just walk out like that and let him take the reins, but she also believed that Alec, unlike herself, wouldn't let emotion rule his actions and would get results. Besides, she owed him and this wasn't just about her, it was about him, too.

She leaned against the wall and waited, wishing she hadn't been so quick to agree, wishing she'd heard more - like Alec obviously had - so she could understand what was happening. But Alec's suggestion that she 'wait it out' outside so that he could get to the bottom of things without her interference - okay, so he hadn't exactly _said_ that, but it was implied - (she growled) and she knew he was probably right. Logan might be more open about things if he thought he was alone with Alec.

* * *

"Why?" 

A single word; but that one word was edged with steel and it sent shivers down Logan's spine. His tongue felt as if glued to the roof of his mouth and he swallowed thickly.

Alec chuckled darkly and added. "Oh, I understand why you fucked _me_ over, but the question is, Why do this to Max?"

His eyes bored into Logan's, cold, hard and unmistakeably hostile.

"I don't expect you to understand," the older man said finally.

"Understand?! You can't seriously believe you could rationalize this!"

The initial feeling of fear following the revelation of his deception passed, now that Max was gone and Alec was the only one left. Alec; the reason Logan had put his plan into effect in the first place. He knew the X5 still had feelings for Max and felt justified in rubbing salt in open wounds; especially after Alec had exposed Logan's secret.

"Of course I can," he said smugly. "I love her. We were meant to be together. We have a history you could never hope to compete with. I did what any man would do - I fought for the woman I love."

"Fought for her? God, you're a bastard! Going behind Max's back and manipulating things, so that she'd come back to you, isn't love."

"Only a fool would let a girl like Max get away. And I'm not an idiot. I seized the opportunity when it presented itself. You can't fault me for that."

"You're unbelievable! Are you listening to yourself?!" Alec ran a hand over his face in disbelief. "A fantasy. None of it was real, Logan. You're just the safe choice. Don't delude yourself into thinking that Max loves you." Alec was deliberately taunting the older man, his hurt and emotional distress getting the better of him. "I don't think she even knows what love _is._ Or if she's capable of it," he muttered bitterly.

"Why? Because if she _were_, she'd still be with you?" Logan watched with satisfaction as the younger man's eyes darkened in anger, and pressed on.

"You thought she loved you. But if she had, she would have chosen to stay with you." He grinned smugly. "What is love without trust? Max didn't trust you enough to tell you what was really going on. She came to _me_."

_And_ _stayed with me._ The words were unspoken but the meaning clear.

* * *

Outside the door to the apartment, Max was listening in rapt attention, growing increasingly furious with each word coming from Logan's mouth. 

She still stood by her reasons for keeping her secret from Alec, but hearing Logan slam Alec with the cold, hard truth made her sick. The knot of guilt and despair that she'd carried around since the day she walked away from Alec grew tighter.

Wrapping her arms around her stomach, she leaned her head against the door and closed her eyes.

* * *

Alec had had enough. He was blind with rage by that point and his fist shot out without warning, crunching bone and knocking Logan back a few steps. Logan grunted in pain and grabbed his nose, blood seeping through his fingers. 

"You're one to talk!" Alec snarled. "You've been lying to Max from the moment you two got back together - before that, even! Trust? You're so full of shit, you make me sick."

Logan steadied himself and wiped at his upper lip with the back of his hand. He should have known better than to provoke the Transgenic further, but couldn't help himself as his lips curved in self satisfaction. "It kills you, doesn't it? That she came back to me. You always had a thing for her and when she should have trusted you, she _didn't_. She came back to _me._ I told you, Alec. Max and I are meant to be."

The X5 tried to keep a level-headed despite his fury.

"_But you had no_ _future!" _he hissed venomously. _"_The virus was still in play."

Alec's eyes glittered with hatred. "Max's feelings changed and you couldn't accept that. You stole her freedom. Can't you see how utterly selfish that is? Forget that you took away _my_ chance at happiness with her, you took _hers_. For someone who's supposed to love her, you have a really fucked up way of showing it!"

Guilt flashed briefly across Logan's features but disappeared as quickly as it had come.

Logan's eyes burned with madness. "We have a future _now._ I found the cure and we're together. She's _mine. _Burns like acid, huh, Alec? _Mine._"

Logan threw caution to the wind. Later he would wonder at his own stupidity, at the sheer recklessness of baiting an angry Transgenic male who was capable of snapping his neck with two fingers, but presently he couldn't care less.

"She screams like a wildcat, did you know? _'Logan, Logan, Logan!'_"

Alec saw red and leapt forward, encasing the Ordinary's neck in an iron grip. He squeezed, grinning in satisfaction when the man's eyes began to bulge and his form start to weaken visibly.

But Alec, while physically and mentally superior, was still vulnerable to attack. Logan struggled fiercely and finally succeeded in bringing a leg up between Alec's thighs. This resulted in him loosening his hold enough for Logan to escape, all the while gasping for air. Alec dropped to his knees.

Logan edged his way towards his desk but Alec, despite the searing pain shooting through his groin, straightened.

The possessive manner in which Logan had spoken of Max and the images the man's words raised in his mind brought blinding rage back to the surface. Alec whipped out his gun and aimed it at Logan's who froze in his tracks.

"You have no idea how much I hate you right now," he growled. "I should put a bullet between your eyes and end your miserable life." He laughed sharply when Logan backed up and tripped over the coffee table, landing flat on his back.

* * *

Max had held to her end of the deal. When Alec had first played the recordings she'd been shocked and furious and the first thought was to run; run hard and fast and never look back. Then the feeling was replaced with outrage. She couldn't deny the voice on the clip had been Logan's and his eyes had confirmed that fact. Max may not have had much time to process it all, but in that split second of realization she had wanted to rip him apart with her bare hands. 

Only Alec's hold on her had grounded her and the insistent tapping on her back had spelled out a request for her to leave so Alec could get answers. Answers he wouldn't get if Max were present. She didn't like it but she'd _understood_; understood both the need and the reasons.

But now, hearing the exchange from behind the wall and the subsequent crash just moments ago, she knew it was time to intervene. Logan's final shot at Alec would have set his blood boiling. Alec was an X5 Alpha male, and she knew in her heart of hearts that they were meant to be mated. He was her equal in every way, a perfect match, her other half. And if he felt the way she thought he did...

_He'd_ _be going on instinct fighting for me. _

* * *

Max entered the penthouse silently and crept towards the study, unsure of what she might find there but with a pretty good idea. She stopped cold in her tracks when she saw Logan sprawled on his back and Alec's gun aimed at his bruised and bloody face. 

Max knew about Alec's past but felt she knew him well enough to say he wouldn't go through with killing someone in cold blood, not anymore, not really. She assumed he was trying to frighten Logan and from the looks of it, succeeding. She continued to observe in silence and was slightly surprised by Logan's reaction.

"You won't kill me," Logan spoke with surety. "Max loves me, Alec. She'd never forgive you for taking away another person she loves."

A look of incredulity spread over Alec's face. "You think Max wouldn't want to kill you herself? Or that she could ever love you after betraying her like this?!" Alec laughed mirthlessly. "_You're out of your mind._ Besides, it's not just _her_ life you screwed with. I think she'd understand."

Fear gripped him as the weight of the situation finally hit. _I'm_ _gonna die!_ And so Logan pleaded, "Please...!"

Alec narrowed his eyes, thumbed off the safety and steadied his hand. "Tell me why I shouldn't kill you," he snarled, as he took a step forward.

_Oh god, he's really gonna kill him!_ Max thought wildly, as she opened her mouth to stop him. The shout died in her throat when she heard Logan's words and saw Alec freeze up.

"Your son comes to mind," Logan said quietly,

Alec lowered the gun. Logan exhaled a sigh of relief. Across the room, Max did the same, silently.

Alec paused and gazed thoughtfully at Logan before raising the gun once more, a grim smile forming on his lips. "Doesn't mean I can't rough you up a bit."

"Alec! Stop." Max barked, stepping into the room and striding towards the X5 whose focus hadn't wavered from his prey. "Don't."

Logan looked up at Alec, eyes communicating a triumphant _'I told you so_.'

Max shot Logan a look of disgust. "I want answers," she demanded. Logan relaxed at the reprieve but it was short lived. The fury smouldering in her eyes caused his skin to crawl and the terror he'd felt when Alec had pointed the readied firearm at his head returned when she added grimly, "..._first_."

He gulped and scrambled back when Max advanced on him but didn't get far. She grabbed him by the collar and hauled him up, slamming him against the wall.

"Talk. Now."

"Hailey and I had a deal," he began hastily, "she doctors your files, and in return she gets ten grand," his gaze swung to Alec, "and you."

"Why Hailey?" Max asked, truly curious.

"Max, it's not important," Alec stated gruffly.

Max wasn't paying much attention to Alec, she wanted to know why Logan chose Hailey.

"How did you know she would help you?"

"Oh, come on, Max," Logan scoffed. "Anyone with eyes could see how into him she was. It was easy." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Though she didn't seem to think it was enough to get the man she wanted. She asked for ten thousand dollars." A pause. "Makes you wonder what she wanted it for," he mused aloud.

"Just tell her why," Alec ordered, standing stonily and staring blankly ahead. Max realized, belatedly, that talk of Hailey pained Alec far too much to rehash so soon after discovering her betrayal. Turning back to Logan, she raised an eyebrow as if to ask, _'So?'_

Logan sighed and continued, "I knew Max would walk away from you - knowing she couldn't be a 'real' woman." He cringed when her eyes and nostrils flared. "From what I understand, Transgenics always look for the best partner. You would have denied her if you'd known. She knew that. I knew that and I exploited that knowledge." Logan crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his head to one side, showing defiance and no regret. He watched with great interest when Max's face fell and she turned away from her fellow X5.

Angry shadows fell across Alec's face. _Smug bastard._ Careful not to put too much force behind the action, Alec pistol-whipped Logan across the jaw. Logan's head snapped sharply back. Quirking an eyebrow and ignoring the pain the movement caused, he raised a shaky hand to his mouth and wiped at the fresh blood that trickled from the cut on his lower lip. He narrowed his eyes but kept silent.

Noticing the set of Max's shoulders and her refusal to face him, Alec wavered. _Drop the gun and go to Max or keep it on Logan_ _and deal with her later?_ He was pretty certain that Logan wouldn't make it out of the room without catching their notice - _or a bullet cutting him down_ - but he wasn't sure of her receptiveness to him at the moment.

Instead, he chose to address her. "Max," he said softly, "He's wrong."

Logan knew that his future with Max was shattered. But while he might not have the girl, he would remind them both that neither could Alec.

"I almost feel sorry for you, Alec," he said evenly, the admission earning him a sharp glare from the younger male. "Your - what should I call her, wife? Mate? - is a self-serving bitch. Considering she was getting you, what she wanted to begin with, she sure drove a hard bargain when it came to the money. And _I _was doing _her_ a favor." He dipped his head and pouted in mock sympathy. "Like I said, I almost feel sorry for you. You're mated to Hailey and you're a father. You won't leave your family."

His words were like a bucket of ice water to both Transgenics.

Alec knew that he would always be tied to Hailey through Kaie, no matter what happened between Hailey and himself.

Max's guilt was eating at her and mixing with that recurrent sense of hopelessness. She now had Hailey and Kaie as an added burden of responsibility. Her unwillingness to explain things to Alec back when it had mattered had led him to this. She refused to show any outwards signs of weakness, though her heart was breaking again knowing they could never have a future together.

Her emotions threatened to overwhelm her and so, turning towards the Ordinary, she forced down everything that made her _Max_ and called up the resilience of the soldier to fortify her.

Directing her question at Alec but keeping her eyes locked on Logan's, she asked, "What are the chances we can wipe his entire system out?"

Alec's face creased in a genuine smile for the first time in ages. "Dix."

"If I leave you with him can I trust you not to kill him?"

Alec grinned. "Oh, yeah. I think this will hurt a lot more than any bullet ever could."

She nodded and walked towards the door when Alec called after her, "Where are you going?"

"Gotta blaze."

He looked after her regretfully, understanding the unspoken words. He flipped open his phone, dialled a familiar number and spoke quickly when the call was answered, "Dix? I want one of those server EMT doodahs that Axel got hold of a couple months ago..."

- TBC -


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** My apologies to all for the delay in updating. My eyes have ben really bad and it's difficult to write at times. Combine that with a reluctant muse and it's a recipe for disappointment. I hope you all enjoy the update despite the delay. hugs Shay

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Ten**

_There's a heart that must be  
Free to fly  
That burns with a need to know  
The reason why  
_  
Christina Aguilera – Reflection

* * *

The night was dark and heavy, the thick rain clouds threatening ominously in the heavens. His footsteps echoed loudly in the stillness, the streets quieter than he'd ever remembered them being at this time of night. The air was that of autumn turned winter; damp and bone-chillingly cold. Alec shoved his hands deeper into his pockets and hunched his shoulders against the night, burrowing deeply into the warmth of his jacket.

He inhaled; the pre-dawn air was a relief, cold as it was, and eased the oppressive, masculine perfume that had assaulted his senses and begun to swallow him whole. Alec never was a fan of the cloying, overpowering scent of patchouli that still lingered on his clothes, testament to the extended period of time spent in Logan's foul presence.

Alec commended himself on his earlier decision not to take his bike. The walk home was a welcome change after everything that had transpired and the elements made him feel freer. Relieved of the pressures and stress, scents, sights and sounds to which he'd been exposed, it was almost as if he had released the dark cloud of doubt and uncertainty within him out into the atmosphere. In short, being outdoors was sobering and helped him think more clearly.

The night had been a disaster - the worse night of his life - and considering his past with Manticore and all things related, that was saying something. The secrets revealed had shattered his perceptions of his life, his loyalties and his beliefs, but at the same time he felt as though a weight had lifted from him.

Alec couldn't deny that he'd had his doubts about his relationship; he never did claim to love Hailey, though he'd grown to care about her in time. The news just brought him to a new level of awareness, had given him clarity to see what he'd either not noticed before or had ignored.

This didn't by any stretch mean that things were resolved; nothing is simple, he knew that well enough. However, his eyes were wide open, now, and he was no longer in the dark. Never again would Alec take anything at face value, no matter how much trust he had in a person.

The old adage, 'Once bitten, twice shy' definitely fit.

But while the night had sucked, and sucked hard, it had also ended rather successfully with the outing of the truth in a way that no one could contest, and the subsequent derailment of the man known as Eyes Only.

Dix had come through again, not that it was surprising. The Transhuman was a whiz at computers and technology, after all. A few months back, Axel had come across an EMT device specifically designed for computer systems, but with the potential to do greater damage. Dix had modified the device so that it would affect anything connected to the system in which it was implanted.

After calling TC to request the little destructive chip, Alec had spent some time copying and encrypting any files Logan had on the Transgenics and transferring them to TC via secure FTP. Once that was done and the chip had arrived – courtesy of one of the X5s on duty at Command – they'd not only wiped Logan's system, but anything that had been connected to him. All of his informants and sources that had any link open to Eyes Only were fried.

Alec couldn't help but grin, knowing that not only did they eliminate Eyes Only's base of operations, but they'd put the man himself in a bad position with quite a few people who might be out for his blood. It didn't hurt that Alec had also unleashed a pretty nasty virus worm that could be traced back to EO, either.

_Served the bastard right._

It had been one hell of a night and Alec was tired; tired of hurting, tired of feeling and tired of thinking. His mind was still whirling with the events of the past few hours and all the information he now possessed and had yet to completely process and examine. The combination of shocking revelations, reluctant confessions and the resurfacing of feelings for Max were a lot to take in at once. He still didn't know why she'd done it, but he had his suspicions - how could he not? Everything fit her profile; running instead of confronting her demons and fears, putting other people's needs before her own, the way she tensed when Logan implied she was any less a woman due to her supposed inability to bear a child, her refusal to meet Alec's eyes, the way she believed he would have denied her...

Alec alternated between wanting to hit her and hug her. While he'd been wrapped in his hurt, smarting from her vicious rejection of his love and attentions, she'd been drowning in her own despair. He'd allowed his pain to cloud his vision, not allowed himself to see that there was a deeper reason for her refusal to accept him as a lover, and his unwillingness to see past his bruised ego has led to the dissolution of their friendship.

_I should have been there for her, regardless,_ he thought to himself angrily.

Alec had always come back; no matter how many times Max had beaten him down, verbally or physically, he'd never shied away and always came back. So long as she wasn't physically able to be with Logan, as long as there was a chance that she might see Alec as a potential mate he'd kept hoping and coming back for another lashing of her tongue or fists.

_The one time she really needed me to come back, I gave up_.

There was too much to think about, still so much to process before he could consider approaching Max for the long, heart-to-heart he knew they both needed. Even if his, and at this he growled in dark fury, _mate_ was tied to him for life, he needed that connection to Max again – assuming, of course, that it wouldn't be too painful for her. Alec wasn't stupid; he wouldn't be selfish enough to demand her presence in his life if she couldn't handle it, painful as it might be to give her up and distance himself again. Max was his better half. He knew this; deep down he'd always known, and it was killing him now to know that the only real joy in his life – his son, Kaie – was what kept him from his true mate.

There was still the issue of Hailey to deal with and Alec wasn't quite sure how or what he would do about her. One thing was for certain; his son would stay by his side, even if whatever ended up happening with Hailey meant that she did not. No way in hell was he letting Kaie go.

Alec sighed deeply and picked up his pace. The sooner he got to Terminal City, the better. He wouldn't go home, though; no, he knew better than to confront his..._Hailey_ when he was this angry. He would never endanger his son, and being around her now and in close proximity to the child could prove catastrophic. Alec had a key to Axel's apartment and he knew he would be welcome to crash. He smirked, thinking that he wouldn't be interrupting any _activities_, either, with Axel still on the mend.

Yes, he decided, Axel and Mena's was his best bet for the night.

* * *

The baby wailed again and she shoved a fist in her mouth to hold back from screaming her frustration.

Alec was always the one who comforted Kaie. Hailey, for whatever reason, seemed unable to calm the child; in fact, she seemed to make him cry harder just by being nearby. The child drove her to distraction and was grating so heavily on her nerves that she was close to throttling him.

"Where the hell _are _you, Alec," she seethed, glancing at the clock yet again. Hailey had been home for hours now, and was surprised to see no sign of her mate in the tiny apartment they shared. All her worries about getting home before he'd noticed her absence were for naught.

"Bastard," she muttered, slamming the magazine she'd been thumbing through distractedly onto the coffee table. The noise shocked the infant who screamed yet louder.

Hailey jumped to her feet and pounded the wall beside her. This set the boy off at an even higher pitch, breaking the last thread of resolve the woman held and she whipped around to glare at the shrieking child.

"Shut up!" she shouted, "Can't you just shut the hell up, you annoying brat?!"

Having let out her exasperation, she felt a wave of guilt flood her when fat tears fell from the boy's innocent, scared eyes and streamed steadily down his chubby cheeks. The poor child didn't understand; he had no idea what he'd done wrong, why his mother refused to hold him and why she couldn't calm him.

"God, baby, I'm sorry," she soothed, reaching out to pick the boy up and press him close to her breast. He wailed still, and Hailey bit back the harsh words on the tip of her tongue, stopped herself from dropping the baby back into his crib and leaving him to his own devices, and instead patted his back as she'd seen Gem and the other women do.

Slowly, Kaie's cries died down to shuddering breaths interspersed with loud, gasping hiccups. Thumb in mouth, the boy sucked greedily, squeezing out a few stray tears. He snuggled deeply into his mother's neck, his small body tense, as if expecting to hear more harsh shouts and cruel words, but none came.

Hailey sighed and shook her head lightly, rubbing the infant's back and shushing him to sleep. She felt horrible; she'd never wanted to be a mother in the first place, but she was no baby killer. At times, though, she couldn't help wondering if it would have been better not to have born the child. Hailey knew she wasn't a motherly person, she didn't seem to possess the same instincts and feelings the other mothers had for their kids. It wasn't fair to Kaie and, she mused darkly and somewhat selfishly, it wasn't fair to _her_, either.

But it kept Alec with her. Alec; the golden haired, hazel eyed devil who was Commander of Terminal City and the Alpha of Alpha males in the Transgenic stronghold. No, she wouldn't really have wished it any other way, for if she had, Alec would never have stayed with her.

Hailey knew, before she'd revealed her pregnancy to Alec, that he had meant to leave her eventually. She knew she was the rebound girl, the one he used to release the tension and the anger he'd felt towards Max.

_Max_, Hailey spat viciously at the very thought of her. If she hadn't learned of Max's reasons for leaving Alec to waste, she would have hated the girl more. As it was, Hailey despised Max for stealing Alec's heart. He'd never truly loved her as he loved Max and it was a bitter pill to swallow. Logan's plan had been just what Hailey needed; a way to snag the top dog in TC and elevate her to a position of status and recognition she'd previously been denied

And despite what others might think. Hailey _did_ love Alec. Perhaps not right off the bat, but the more time she spent with him, the more she learned to love his ways and mannerisms, his humor, his loyalty she couldn't help but fall hard. It wasn't _her_ fault that the guy was a sap at times. Manticore had been right; love was his weakness and it blinded him.

_Though_, she conceded smugly, _it was to my benefit after all_.

Sparing a last glance at the clock on the wall, Hailey's lips thinned to a tight, angry line. It was coming up on 4am and Alec had yet to make an appearance. Turning abruptly, she laid the now peacefully slumbering child in his crib and headed back to the living area.

Sleep would come after she confronted her missing mate. He had some explaining to do.

* * *

Max's head was pounding. Too many tears, lack of sleep, excessive alcohol consumption and venting her anger and confusion to Cindy had taken its toll, leaving her with a dull ache behind tired eyes.

"You gonna be okay, boo?" her best female friend inquired gently, stifling a yawn and brushing a curl out of her eyes.

Max nodded, flashing her friend a soft smile. "Yeah. You should get some sleep; I'm sorry I kept you up so long."

Cindy stood up and pulled her robe closer around her frame, tying the sash tightly. "S'all good, boo, but Original Cindy does need that beauty sleep. See you in the morning, girl?" With a light squeeze on the shoulder, she retired for the night.

Max nodded absently and stared out the window at the dark clouds outlined by the full moon.

She wondered how things had gone after she left Logan's place. She'd felt stifled there and it had been too much to be around Logan after his betrayal, and Alec after his confession. But more than that, she'd felt the familiar stirrings of guilt.

Max knew deep down that if she'd told Alec the truth from the start that he would most likely have stayed with her, denying that it mattered to him that she couldn't give him what he had always wanted. That niggling, annoying little voice that told her it wasn't her decision to make, wormed its way out again and she closed her eyes.

_Even if it wasn't my choice to make, I had to,_ she argued silently. _I had to._

But now, after hearing the hurt in his voice, the sincerity of his words, she wondered. Did she really _have_ to? Would he have chosen her over that future? Knowing what it was like having Kaie, would he have really opted out of fatherhood to be with her?

_No,_ she repeated firmly in her mind,_ he would have regretted it in the end. I did the right thing._

Max knew she'd made the right choice. Alec had a son who meant the world to him, even if he _had_ ended up with a total bitch for a mate.

_Come to think of it, she and I need to have a little chat._

She continued to stare out the window, feeling an affinity with the weeping skies.

* * *

Alec let himself into Axel's apartment quietly, shutting and bolting the door behind him. He removed his shoes and padded silently over to the couch. He shrugged off his jacket and laid it over the armrest before settling down on the couch and stretching out. He rolled onto his side in an attempt to get comfortable, when a loud squeak sounded from beneath him.

Sitting up quickly, he reached blindly for the object that had elicited the loud noise, cursing to himself. His hand wrapped around the small squeak toy and he recognized it immediately.

It was his son's favourite toy, one he couldn't sleep without.

_What the..._

"Alec?" he heard Axel call from the hallway, "That you, man?"

"Yeah," he replied softly, "Sorry to wake you."

Axel limped into the room and switched on the light, bathing the room in a soft glow. He stumbled toward the couch but waved Alec away when he made to help him.

"I'm good, just need to take it slow," he explained, settling down next to his friend. "So, what brings you to my humble abode at 4am?" Axel asked. "Especially when you've got your own place just down the hall?"

"Had a bad night, man. Really didn't wanna go home. I hope it's okay that I crash here?" Alec responded rather offhandedly. However, Axel knew his friend too well.

He nodded. "Anything to do with why Hailey dumped Kaie here earlier and disappeared?"

"What?!" Alec asked in confusion. "She just left him here? Where did she go?"

Axel shrugged, grimacing slightly at the twinge in his stiff, sore limbs. "Beats me. She came by asking where you were, dropped Kaie on the floor and said she had somewhere to be. Came back about an hour later to pick him up without saying a word." He watched the play of emotions on Alec's face and shrewdly guessed, "You haven't been home yet."

Alec noted it was a statement and not a question and nodded. "I didn't want to go home, not yet."

Axel caught the angry flare in Alec's eyes and sent him a questioning look.

"Like I said, bad night," he offered in response to the silent question.

Axel knew Alec better than anyone, and he knew his friend was upset. He also knew that leaving the guy to stew in his juices and not get it out of his system could backfire badly.

"Al, it's me, man. You can't hide shit from me, so don't even try."

Alec hung his head and rubbed his temples. _Damn you, Axel,_ he thought fondly,_ you know me too well._

Slowly and haltingly, Alec began to recount the events of the past few days; from his chat with Cindy to the destruction of Logan's Eyes Only set-up. His friend listed in dazed silence, nodding from time to time, clenching his fists at others, but never saying a word that might stop Alec from getting it all out in the open.

When Alec finished his tale, Axel sat back and crossed his arms over his chest, deep in thought. Finally, turning to Alec he took in the dejected slump of his best friend's shoulders, the sad eyes full of longing and hurt, and wished he could shoulder some of the burden.

"What are you going to do?"

Alec snorted. "What _can_ I do, Ax?" he asked, frustrated. "I'm stuck with her," he sighed before adding, "And there's Kaie to think about. I won't leave him."

Something had been bothering Axel for a very long time, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. He studied his friend intently and for a long moment when he leaned in and sniffed at Alec's neck. His brow furrowed when he seemed unable to determine whatever it was he was looking for and, without warning, Axel yanked at the collar of Alec's shirt, ripping it open and exposing the other man's neck and shoulder. Axel's lips curved upwards.

Alec pulled back abruptly and stared at Axel, perplexed. "Dude, what's _up_ with you? What the hell was that for, mauling me?" Axel chuckled at that and shook his head, the smile never leaving his face.

"And here I thought you were straight," Alec muttered, drawing his ripped shirt closed again and moving even further away from his – deranged - friend.

Finally, noting the broad grin Axel sported, and his laughing eyes, Alec's face showed nothing but confusion. "What, man? What is it?"

-TBC-


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

**A/N: **Thanks to Tiffany, Sonam and Blake for suggestions, corrections and settlement of nerves (mine!) And thanks to Fee for her beta assistance! Even when she's terribly busy she manages to fit me in J I don't know if this chapter would have been finished without their help!

____________________________________

_Will I wake up feeling half of you  
Has been stripped or torn in two  
To kill a young man's point of view  
Is to kill his only friend__  
_  
~Blue October – Tomorrow  
____________________________________

"What man, what is it?"

"Just answer this question and then I'll tell you," Axel replied.

"Alright, shoot."

"Tomorrow," came the irritated and sleepy voice of Mena. She stood in the living room doorway; hands planted on her hips and a scowl on her lips. "It's only a few short hours away."

"But-"

"But nothing," she stated firmly. "You," she pointed at Axel, "Should be resting. Get your ass back to bed, now. And you," she glared at Alec, "You shouldn't be encouraging him! And I didn't appreciate the wake-up call, either. You two can finish this in the morning."

Axel obediently rose from the couch, wincing slightly as he straightened his body. He sent an apologetic look towards Alec and slowly made his way to his mate's side. He paused before exiting the room.

"Tomorrow, Alec. You'll be here, right?"

"I'll be here. I'm curious about your lifestyle choices, after all," he added with a smirk. Looking at Mena he asked, "So, how did you handle learning that Ax here was gay?"

Mena looked between the two men, Alec grinning and Axel blushing scarlet and scowling.

"I'm not gay!" Axel muttered.

"He's not gay," Mena stated.

"Oh, honey, if that's what you need to tell yourself," Alec said with a chuckle. "Axel, we'll keep the male on male bonding session between us, then?"

Axel grabbed a hardcover book from the counter, and threw it at Alec who ducked. The book sailed over his head and cracked the window pane, making Alec laugh and Axel scowl deeper as Mena slapped him upside the head for his irresponsible behavior. The couple exited the room with Axel's colorful mutterings trailing behind them.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The aggressive pounding at the door woke Alec from fitful slumber. He threw his legs over the side of the couch and sat up. Running a hand quickly through his unkempt hair, Alec stood up. He started for the door, yawning, when recognition hit him and his breath froze in his throat.

_Hailey._

He wasn't ready to face her yet, but if he didn't open the door, Axel and Mena - who, by pure luck or just sheer exhaustion had not come stumbling down the hall in a fury - would. Alec didn't want to deal with his friend's angry mate.

And he _really_ didn't want to deal with Hailey right now.

His eyes shifted between the door to the apartment and the closed door at the end of the hall and back again uncertainly.

Alec had just decided to deal with his lying, so-called mate, when Mena slipped out of the bedroom, hastily tying the sash of her robe and rubbing a hand over bleary eyes. She squinted at Alec and then glared.

Seeing her mouth open to - most likely - berate him for his inconsiderateness, he shook his head wildly and pressed a finger to his lips to signal her silence. Mena cocked her head, studying him quizzically.

Alec mouthed his - _Hailey's_ name, pointed to himself and wagged his finger. Mena understood immediately, waved him down the hall and waited until he noiselessly closed the bathroom door.

The knocking increased. Mena threw open the front door and glared at the unwelcome visitor. Visitors, she corrected silently, eyeing the sleepy child snuggled into his mother's neck, thumb in mouth and blinking slowly.

"Where's Alec?" Hailey asked, trying to push past Mena into the apartment, eyes searching out her wayward mate but she couldn't see him. Mena gaped. The audacity of the woman! She blocked the other woman and stepped forward and into her personal space. Her jaw tightened and her eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"He's _your_ boyfriend."

"Funny," Hailey sneered.

Mena didn't budge; she stood and stared with arms folded across her chest and fire in her eyes.

Hailey craned her neck to try and peek over Mena's shoulder.

"I know he's here. I can smell him."

"He was here earlier, talking to Axel. But we went to bed hours ago. I know where my mate is, Hailey. If you can't keep track of yours, that's your problem. Now, get out."

"Look, I need to find him and I can't take the kid with me. I need you to watch him." She held the boy out, ignoring his whimpers of protest as he removed his thumb from his mouth and clung to her shirt with small fists.

Mena took a step back without opening her arms to accept the child. "We're not a babysitting service! It's the middle of the night. Your son should be tucked safe and warm - _in his bed_, not dragged around Terminal City like a ragdoll!"

"It's none of your business how I take care of my son," Hailey huffed indignantly. "Don't-,"

"Not my business? You _make_ it my business every time you dump him on my doorstep because you're too _busy_ to be a mother. And you wonder why Alec's never around."

"Why, you-,"

"Honey?" Mena turned with a sigh as Axel came into view, limping stiffly towards the door. "What's the racket?"

Mena smiled tightly, an expression that didn't meet her eyes, and replied, "We have a visitor."

"Oh?" Nearing the door, Axel caught sight of Hailey and Kaie, the boy once again clasped to his mother's chest; nose buried in her shoulder, but decidedly less happy than he had been earlier.

"Hey there, little man," Axel greeted. Kaie raised his head and slowly smiled. "You come to visit your uncle Axel?"

He reached past Mena and took Kaie, the boy's arms immediately winding around his neck, his chubby cheek resting against Axel's stubbly one.

"Good, that's settled." Hailey nodded absently. "One of us will come get him later."

Mena stare slack-jawed as the other woman disappeared round the corner and out of view. She then turned to her fiancé in annoyance.

"He should be with his mother, Axel! By taking him in every time you give her the impression that it's okay to just drop him off whenever she feels like it. It's bad for her and unhealthy for him," she ranted, nodding at the small boy nestled in Axel's embrace, once again happily sucking his thumb.

He sighed. She was right, after all, but in this particular instance taking Kaie was the right thing to do.

"His father will take care of him, Me."

That was Alec's cue to exit the bathroom, striding purposefully down the hall towards his friend, a smile blooming on his face when he saw his son.

"Da!" Kaie shot up straight, eyes widening and grinned a toddler grin, a thin thread of drool dribbling from his plump lips to his wet thumb. Pudgy hands waved excitedly at his father. "Da!"

"Daddy's here, Kaie. Come to daddy."

Kaie leaned out of Axel's arms and wriggled, opening and closing his little hands and grunting as he rocked forward. The boy's antics made all three Transgenics laugh and Alec scooped the squirming child into his arms, hugging tight.

"Look, Mena, I'm sorry about-,"

She shook her head. "Don't be. I understand. But if it's all the same to you, I'm going to bed. Again." She tugged at Axel's t-shirt and pulled him along with her. "Good night."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Max slipped into Terminal City just as the sun rose above the Seattle skyline, tinting everything in pink-gold hues.

She hadn't been able to sleep, not that sleeplessness was anything new to her. But her mind was still tumultuous as she sorted through her feelings. Guilt, regret, sadness… Anger was the predominant feeling at the moment. Anger at the man who she had once loved and had believed she would always trust, at his betrayal that cut so deep and at the woman who should have been faithful and loving to Alec.

Hailey was supposed to give him the things _she_ couldn't, dammit!

The muscles in her stomach retracted and tied themselves in knots and she could practically _feel_ the blood boiling in her veins.

Max was so fucking _angry_.

She knew that it was entirely possible that the person she intended to confront might not be alone; that _he_ might be there with her, but Max didn't rightly care. If necessary, she would take him down until she'd accomplished what she set out to do.

Single-mindedly, Max threw open the building's double doors, sending the frames crashing into opposite sides of the entryway with such force that they shattered. Taking the stairs two at a time, Max came to a halt outside of one of eight wooden doors. She was vaguely aware of the other doors on the floor cracking open, other tenants wondering at the intrusion to their quiet, peaceful morning.

"Nothing to see here," she hissed when she sensed a figure emerge from the apartment at her back. "This is personal business."

The Transhuman faltered, torn between wanting to duck back into the safety of his home - thereby allowing Max to go about her business as she saw fit - and daring to suggest that she settle whatever business she had planned at a later hour. The Transhuman was no coward, however, and he took a step forward into the hall.

"Maybe you should wait until Princess gets home or talk to him in Command later?"

The corners of her mouth lifted minutely upon hearing that Alec hadn't yet returned. At least she wouldn't have to deal with anyone other than the bitch behind the door. She turned slowly to face the reptilian mutant.

"I'm not here for Alec, Mole."

The two shared a brief look as understanding flickered in his eyes and a slow smile stole across his face. He nodded and slipped back into his apartment, closing the door quietly behind him.

Max whirled around and kicked Alec's door in.

"Hello, Hailey."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"'Morning," Alec greeted Axel, slipping his still socked feet into his shoes.

Axel grunted his acknowledgement but didn't raise his head. The man was seated at the dining table reading a dog-eared book while a very alert Kaie sat beside him in a highchair – borrowed from someone? He wondered – and stuffing his mouth full of sliced bananas and apples.

"Hey, big guy! Having fun makin' a mess?"

"Dada!" The boy grinned, banana mush leaking from the corners of his mouth. "Nah-nas!"

Alec chuckled and ruffled his son's hair. Kaie giggled and clapped his sticky hands together before returning to his fruity feast.

Alec slapped Axel lightly on the back of the head.

"Hey! What's that for?" he grumbled, rubbing the back of his neck more for show than to ease any pain. He frowned at his friend and wrinkled his nose.

"Man, you stink."

Alec laughed. "You try sleeping in whisky and wearing the same clothes for days. You wouldn't smell like roses, either." He raised an arm and sniffed his armpit, making a face and giving Axel a wry smile. "Okay, so I do kinda smell. Shower free?"

Axel laughed. "You've got to be kidding me."

"What?"

He chuckled again. "You live with a woman; you know what it's like."

Alec's face closed off and his features grew unreadable. Axel realized his mistake.

"Sorry, man, wasn't thinking."

And not for the first time, Axel wondered about his friend's relationship. Even though he knew Alec had only stayed with Hailey to do right by his child, he had still hoped that his friend had found some happiness with her. And the thought that he hadn't and wouldn't…

Axel patted Alec on the shoulder regretfully. Pulling away, Alec shrugged it off made his way to the kitchenette where a pot of coffee was brewing. He poured himself and Axel a cup of coffee, straddled his seat and grasped his mug in his hands, enjoying tantalizing aroma and the warmth against his palms.

Axel joined him and the two sat in silence for a while, enjoying the hot beverage and awaiting Mena's appearance so they could share breakfast.

"Are you ever going to tell me why you were feeling me up last night?" Alec asked finally.

Axel snorted. "I was _not_ feeling you up."

"Sure as hell felt like it," Alec insisted with a shrug, though a hint of a smile tugged at his lips.

Axel glared at Alec and poured himself another cup of coffee. "Just let it go, already," he muttered.

"Fine," Alec agreed with a smirk that suggested anything _but_ compliance. "So, what exactly _were_ you doing, anyway?"

"Right," Axel bent over the table leaning heavily on his elbows. "Okay, so this is a little personal and I know we've never really talked about your relationship with Hailey...well, aside from the whole 'doing the right thing' bit, but go with me here... With your real feelings for her at the time, what was the mating like?"

Alec's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"The mating, man. Gimme a blow-by-blow account," Axel said with a smirk.

Alec's face bore an incredulous look. "You want the details of my sex life with Hailey? Ax, I'm not telling you that."

Axel laughed. "C'mon, Alec! You used to tell me _everything_ about your conquests and escapade, from the color of their hair down to the size and style of their unmentionables. Hell, you even described the look in their eyes when they came! Now, spill!"

Alec frowned. "Dude, that's different. Those girls didn't mean anything..."

"And neither does this one," Axel pointed out. "You said it yourself; you _had_ to, because of Kaie. So at least tell me what the mating was like."

"Why the hell do you wanna know?" Alec asked, working up a temper and thoroughly uncomfortable with his friend's probing.

"Just trust me, okay?" Axel insisted. "What happened?"

Alec muttered something that caused Axel to grin but he wouldn't desist. "Well?"

"Fine. She told me she was pregnant and I...suggested we be a family. That's it."

"Uh huh," Axel said, "And…?"

"You honestly want to know what we do when we have sex?!"

Axel sighed in exasperation. "No, Alec. I don't really care what you and Hailey get up to in the bedroom. I want you to tell me the steps of the mating process."

"The mating process," Alec echoed blankly.

"Yeah, the promises, the markings, you know."

Axel watched on in satisfaction as the clueless look on Alec's face never faltered. Axel's smile grew as comprehension dawned in Alec's eyes.

"Marking? You're telling me that it's more than promising to stay together and be faithful..."

Axel knew his question had been answered with that statement. He full out smirked at Alec.

"Al, man, when you truly find your mate and the two of you make that conscious agreement to be together, your mating will be more than words, I assure you. You'll know you've mated when it happens. It's..."

Axel's eyes took on a faraway look, reflecting happiness at a special memory that sent a twinge of jealousy through Alec.

"It's something you'll never forget, man. Ever."

However, some things still needed clarification.

"But this still doesn't explain the touchy-feely-sniffy thing you had going on last night," Alec argued, still reeling from the revelations and confusion that swarmed within him.

'I am not going to hit him, I'm not going to hit him,' Axel chanted under his breath, something which brought a broad grin to Alec's face.

"Wipe that look off your face or I won't tell you," warned Axel.

Alec quickly composed himself, once more serious but intrigued.

"So the whole..." he waved his hand indicating his neck and shoulder, "Was you looking for a mark?"

"Yeah."

"How could I not know this?" Alec wondered aloud.

"I know what you're thinking, man. I didn't know it either, not until it happened. It's not something the guys talk about. It's one of those, you know, intimate things you like to keep between you and your mate. Whoever's gone through it knows that it happens, but we don't talk about it." He paused before adding, "And we'd kill anyone who thought of our mates...being marked."

The goofy grin and blazing eyes were enough to tell Alec that the mating process was something explosive, hot and deeply personal between the couple. And it was even more obvious that he had never mated with Hailey; he'd never...connected with her that way.

Alec wasn't just acknowledging that the one relationship that should have been the most meaningful in his life wasn't, but he was accepting the truth. And it left his gut churning and acid burning in his throat.

Seeing his friend's despondent face, Axel hurriedly continued his explanation. "I already told you about mating and how personal, how private it is. We don't discuss it; we don't go looking for details. We observe a couple and when we see they've made a commitment, we respect that. The rest of it is between the two of them. But with you," Axel took a breath, "All the signals were wrong - and have been for a very long time."

"And that's a reason to grin like an idiot?" Alec's disbelief was apparent from his tone and the look on his face.

Axel appeared confused. "What?"

Alec leaned into his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "When you were looking for that mark," he fairly snarled. "You grinned. I don't see what you find so funny about my life being a lie."

Axel reared as if slapped. He could sense Alec's anger and resentment, could almost feel the hurt that surrounded his normally genial friend. He was excited to have discovered what he did but still feeling unbelievably sad and sorry for his friend. He leaned forward and steepled his hands on the table and nodded solemnly at Alec.

"I'm sorry, man, that wasn't it at all. And so, maybe that wasn't exactly the best reaction, but you have to understand. Like I said, normally we don't go looking for the signs, Alec, but there are signs if you know what to look for, if the couple has truly mated. Yours aren't there. There's nothing. No scent, no marks, not a single indication. I guess I was just happy that you weren't really tied to her, that you weren't trapped like you thought."

Alec sat in stunned silence for a few minutes, processing – or trying – everything his best friend had just told him. He was now enlightened, but he almost wished he wasn't. Sometimes, ignorance really _was_ bliss.

Axel sympathized with Alec. His entire life had turned upside down, bonds had been proven fake, connections that should have existed, didn't. It was a lot to take in, in such a short period, but one thing was certain; his friend needed to understand what this meant. That after all the pain and heartache, he was truly free.

"Al," Axel laid a gentle hand on his friend's shoulder, "You don't owe Hailey anything. Kaie will always be yours but his mother doesn't have to be."

Mena sensed the tension rolling off of Alec before she stepped foot in the kitchen.

"Good morning, boys," she greeted, sweeping into the room and trying to change the subject, "Breakfast?"

"Thanks, but, "Alec heaved a sigh, "I'm not hungry," he replied distantly. Axel shook his head and stood up, squeezing Alec's shoulder before leaving the other man to his thoughts. He knew Alec had a lot to think about now that he knew he had options.

There was a series of sharp, frantic raps on the door.

"I'll get it," Alec offered, crossing the room. "Alright, alright! Just a sec!" he called to the insistent visitor on the other side.

Throwing it open, Alec was surprised to see...

"Dalton?"

The teen's chest was heaving and his breath coming in gasps. He tried to calm himself enough to speak.

"Alec...quick," Dalton panted, the words almost a wheeze, "Fight...your...apartment." He stopped to take another, deeper breath, "Hailey...Max-,"

Alec didn't wait to hear the rest.

…_to be continued._


End file.
